Never Broken
by CelticKitsune
Summary: Spike has been mutated and has been accepted as part of the turtles family, however things are never quite as they seem, after Mikey is attacked, it is up to his brothers to find out what is wrong with the youngest member of the family. AU-inspired by the episode Slash and Destroy. Warnings: Tcest, Rape
1. Chapter 1

I do not own TMNT  
AN: Okay, so this is my first TMNT fanfic, I am super nervous about posting this! I have a fairly good idea of where I am going with this, but I would like to warn people that this story will have rape in later chapters, I will post warnings when it is coming up, and while it isn't every explicit, it may be difficult for some people to handle.

Never Broken  
Chapter 1

Life in the lair had always been loud and rambunctious, though this was something to be expected as there were four teenage boys living there, but it was something that Splinter had grown accustom to over the years. The near constant laughter that came from his youngest, Michelangelo, the yelling and arguing that came from his two oldest, Leonardo and Raphael, and while he didn't hear Donatello raising his voice often, a week wouldn't go by without the second youngest turtle exploding something in his lab.

Today was no different. Splinter's ear twitched when he heard the first sounds of an explosion, all his sons yelling as they no doubt ran for cover. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he waited a moment longer before standing up and going out into the main part of the lair to survey the damage.

The first thing that Splinter saw was Donatello running out of his lab. "Is everyone okay!?" Donatello asked frantically, looking around for his brothers.

"What the shell happened, Donnie?" Leonardo asked, as he came out of his hiding spot behind the pinball machine. Mikey came crawling out from behind the TV and looked around as well.

"I think we're alright, dude, but you owe me a new pizza!" Mikey said as he looked at a box of pizza that was now a smoldering pile of ash.

"Just be glad that it wasn't you, Mikey," Leo said shaking his head before looking up to see Splinter watching not them, but Raph, who was currently still kneeling on the floor, his pet turtle Spike held in his hands.

"Raph?" Leo asked, concern for his brother showing clearly on his face. Raph, however, ignored him as he continued looking down at Spike, shaking the little turtle gently not wanting to hurt him any more than he already might be, but wanting him to wake up.

"Spike? Come on, little buddy," Raph said softly, ignoring the fact that his family was standing around watching him. Donnie came closer and he frowned when he got a better look at Spike; he could see a spot on the small turtle's shell where he had obviously been hit by part of the explosion that had shot off sparks like fireworks all over the lair.

"Raph, let me see him," Donnie said as he stepped closer. Raph didn't react until he saw Donnie reaching to take Spike from him. The red banded turtle pulled Spike closer to his plastron with one hand and shoved Donnie away with the other.

"This is your fault!" Raph shouted as he stumbled to his feet, glaring at Donnie. "Spike never would have been hurt if you didn't have to go explodin' things every other day!" Raph continued yelling, his hands shaking from anger at his brother and fear for how badly hurt Spike may be.

"Raphael." Splinter spoke before the fight could progress any further. "I understand that you are upset at the moment, but Donatello is the best qualified to look after Spike."

"But Master Splinter, it's his fault that-"

"Raphael," Splinter said, firmly cutting off his angry son's protests; reaching out, he placed a hand on Raph's shoulder. "Allow your brother to help, and then we will discuss what happened," Splinter said and watched as Raphael gave a reluctant nod of his head before looking to Donnie. The purple banded turtle said nothing and didn't attempt to take Spike from Raph again, instead he led his older brother back toward the lab where all his medical equipment was.

"Leonardo, Michelangelo," Splinter said, looking at his two sons who were still standing in the room; he looked them over briefly making sure that neither of them were hurt. "I would like the two of you to start cleaning up this mess," Splinter said as he looked around at the damage that the explosion had caused.

Leo and Mikey looked around the room as well frowning at the damage before Leo nodded. "Hai Sensei," he said and went to get a broom to start cleaning.

"Aw man," Mikey complained but moved to start picking up anything that was broken, separating things into what was trash, and what Donnie might be able to fix.

Splinter watched them for a moment before he made his way toward Donnie's lab, stopping just inside the door to watch his two sons, Raph staying close to the table where Spike was laying down while Donnie worked quickly.

"Come on, Spike, just open your eyes," Raph pleaded softly, his hands twitching with the effort of holding himself back from picking up his pet, knowing that he couldn't hold Spike while Donnie was working.

Donnie frowned as he continued looking over the small turtle. "I'm not finding anything wrong with him, Raph," Donnie said, earning a glare from his older brother.

"What the shell do you mean there's nothing wrong with him!? That explosion of yours hit him! And now he won't wake up!" Raph shouted.

"I'm telling you, there's nothing physically wrong with him," Donnie insisted. "He could just be in shock," Donnie continued as he gently turned Spike over and looked at him carefully; he could see where the explosion had hit him. "But the only thing I can find wrong is he has a small crack in his shell, it's not even that bad of a crack and will heal on its own," Donnie said.

"Then why ain't he wakin' up, brainiac?" Raph growled.

"I told you, I don't know!" Donnie snapped. "I can keep him in here and keep an eye on him…" Donnie suggested but Raph shook his head.

"No," Raph snapped and picked up Spike. "I'm not going to leave him anywhere near you so you can actually blow him up next time!" Raph said and turned to see Splinter standing in the doorway.

"Raphael, I am going to speak with Donatello, then I wish to speak with you after," Splinter said. Raph made no reply as he stormed out of the lab, leaving Splinter alone with Donnie. Splinter sighed, waiting a moment before closing the door to Donnie's lab and turning to face the olive-green turtle, who was standing there with his head lowered, already waiting and willing to accept whatever punishment Splinter gave him.

"Donatello," Splinter began, taking note of how his son's shoulders tensed. "You have always been a curious boy, and have always had a thirst for knowledge that surpasses your brothers. I have always allowed you to pursue this, with the only guidelines being that you do not do anything that would bring harm to you or your brothers," Splinter said.

"I know, Sensei, I promise I'm going to be more careful from now on. I will put more time into my research, run simulations before attempting to try it..." Donnie promised, only glancing at Splinter as he spoke.

"I am pleased to hear this; however, you should have been taking these precautions before things escalated to this level. What happened to Spike, that could have easily been you, or one of your brothers," Splinter said, feeling pained as he watched his son shrink back slightly, putting in an obvious effort not to hide himself in his shell.

Donnie nodded his head slowly in understanding. The thought had occurred to him, as soon as he had seen Raph holding onto Spike the only thought that had been going through his head was how easily that could have been Raph; it was bad enough that his experiment had hurt his older brother's pet, but the thought of how easily it could have been his older brother was something that was going to haunt him for a while.

"I do not tell you this as a punishment, my son," Splinter continued. "I know that you and your brothers care deeply for one another, and would not willingly hurt each other, however, I think some time away from your lab may be beneficial. So, for one week you will have one extra hour of training in the morning, and every night you will spend one hour meditating with me in the dojo," Splinter informed him and Donnie nodded silently, accepting his punishment.

Splinter walked the few steps toward his son and placed a hand gently on his shoulder, giving him as much comfort as he could. Donnie finally looked up at him, and Splinter could easily see how his son was hiding all his emotions behind the mask he kept so firmly in place. "I believe that you will be more careful in the future."

"Hai Sensei," Donnie said nodding again.

"Now, why don't you go and help your brothers clean up the lair," Splinter said, letting his hand fall away from Donnie's shoulder and watched as the tall turtle gave him a weak smile before leaving the lab to go and help clean up the mess that his experiment had made. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Splinter silently prayed for the patience he was going to need while talking to Raphael.

-x

If there was one thing that Mikey truly didn't like, it was to see his brothers fighting, though if he truly thought about it, them not talking to each other was far worse than the normal fights that broke out. It had only been a single day since the accident that had hurt Raph's pet turtle, and despite being ordered to leave his older brother alone and let him cool off, Mikey wanted to make sure that Raph was actually okay.

The red banded turtle had skipped practice that morning, and Splinter had allowed it to slide for that day, but Mikey was sure that their sensei was planning on speaking with Raph again later. Letting out a long sigh, Mikey lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

"Go away!" came the quick reply from the other side. Mikey frowned, hearing the voice on the other side of the door that was most definitely not his older brother. Curiosity piqued now, Mikey grabbed the door handle and gently pushed the door open.

"Raph?" Mikey asked, looking into the dark room.

"What the shell are you doin', Mikey?" Raph's voice demanded from behind him, making the orange banded turtle jump and spin around in surprise.

Before Mikey could even answer Raph's question, something suddenly grabbed him from behind. The small turtle yelped as he was suddenly pulled into the room and slammed up against the wall, letting out a small grunt of pain as his shell connected with the stone wall, Mikey turned baby-blue eyes up to stare at the large angry, unfamiliar turtle that currently had him pinned to the wall.

"Spike, no!" Raph snapped when his brother was pulled into the room. Pushing the door open further, Raph reached out and hit the light switch. "Spike, it's okay, it's just Mikey, he ain't gonna hurt ya, you can let him go," Raph said, trying to calm the angry turtle down. However, Spike didn't even look at him, continuing to glare at Mikey, growling softly.

"He's worried about me hurting him?" Mikey asked, his eyes never leaving the turtle in front of him.

"Spike!" Raph snapped, demanding the larger turtle's attention. "Let Mikey go," Raph ordered; the last thing he wanted to do was fight Spike but after spending the whole morning with the larger turtle, Raph knew how unstable Spike was at the moment. Though he knew Spike wouldn't hurt him, he didn't know how his former pet would react to his brothers.

Spike stared at Raph before glaring back at Mikey before finally letting the younger turtle go. Mikey dropped the few inches to the floor before hurrying over to hide behind Raph. From here he could get a better look at Spike. "Is that really your pet turtle, bro?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. I woke up this morning and found him like this," Raph admitted.

"Wow, dude, this is totally awesome!" Mikey said, grinning widely and Raph couldn't help but smile a little, though that didn't last long when Mikey suddenly turned his head and shouted. "Leo! Donnie! You two have GOT to see this!"

"Don't go callin' them in here, shell for brains!" Raph snapped, even though it was too late; he could already hear their other two brothers hurrying down the hall.

"Mikey?" Leo was the first to enter the room, eyes landing instantly on his two younger brothers, visibly relaxing when he didn't see anything instantly wrong with them. However, he was on full alert when his eyes drifted up to look at the third figure in the room.

"Look dude's! Another turtle!" Mikey said, pointing at Spike.

Donnie stood in the doorway, brown eyes widening slightly as he took in the large form standing in front of them. "Is that..." He trailed off, looking at Raph.

"It's Spike," Raph admitted.

"That's Spike?" Leo demanded, also looking more than a little surprised to see Raph's pet turtle now easily twice the size of any of them, and with more muscles than any of the pro-wrestlers he had seen on TV.

"Yeah, it's Spike. No, I don't know how this happened. You can drill me for more answers later, right now Spike's a bit freaked out, so if you all don't mind, could you get out?" It wasn't a request, they all knew that, but still the three of them lingered; Raph standing and glaring at Leo; Donnie staring openly at Spike, his mind obviously working a mile a minute trying to figure out how something like this could have even happened, since as far as they all knew Spike hadn't gotten into any mutagen since all of that was safely locked up in Donnie's lab.

And Mikey, despite having just been pinned against the wall and having already seen a sample of how strong and how fast this lager turtle was, decided to take the chance and move closer. "How come when you mutated you got so big?" Mikey asked, looking up at Spike, who glared down at him, growling softly. The younger turtle didn't seem to take heed of the warning as he moved even closer, only to be grabbed by the back of his shell and pulled back by Raph.

"I told you all to get out!" Raph snapped, shoving Mikey at Leo.

"Raph, we have to tell Master Splinter about this," Leo said.

"I know that, Leo, it ain't like I was gonna keep him secret forever," Raph growled.

"Then how come you didn't come tell us when you first found out he had mutated? You've seen what the mutagen does to others, Raph! He could be dangerous," Leo said.

"I'm not dangerous," Spike said, speaking for the first time, catching everyone except for Raph by surprise.

"That is yet to be seen," Leo said, unwilling to trust Spike just yet, even if this turtle had been Raph's pet for years; Leo had seen far too much involving the mutagen, had seen how it messed with people's minds, and half the time those who were mutated were as far from being themselves as it was possible to be.

"It's not for you to decide if Spike is dangerous or not!" Raph snapped clenching his fists. Spike reached out and put a hand on Raph's arm, causing the red banded turtle to look back at him.

"It's alright, Raphael, I've been around long enough to know that Leonardo isn't going to trust me until I have proven myself," Spike said, looking to the turtle in blue. "What do you want to do first?" he asked.

Leo gave him a suspicious look. "We go talk to Master Splinter," he said. "Then we have Donnie take a look at you, and figure out what caused you to mutate like this," Leo said and Spike just nodded his head in agreement.

"You don't have to do this, Spike," Raph said, not sure how he felt about the fact that Spike was going along with Leo's orders so easily. The large turtle turned to look at him and gave him a small smile.

"Your brothers are not going to trust me any other way," Spike said, watching as Raph's shoulders slumped slightly, but he noticed that Raph still kept his hands clenched into fists.

"Fine, but I'm comin' with ya," Raph insisted.

"May I point out one slight problem with this plan," Donnie spoke up. "I have been grounded from my lab for the week," Donnie reminded them.

"Don't worry about that, D," Mikey said putting a hand around Donnie's shoulder. "You can start doing all your doctor sciency stuff next week," Mikey said with a grin.

Donnie sighed and shook his head, "That's all well and good, Mikey, but that doesn't solve the problem of figuring out how Spike got mutated in the first place," Donnie pointed out. "Did he somehow get into the mutagen?" Donnie questioned taking a moment to glance over at Spike again. "Or was it something else that caused the mutation, and if so then what?" Donnie continued to question. Mikey didn't say anything in reply to the questions though, because he knew that his brother was no longer talking to him.

Mikey couldn't help but grin when he noticed how his brother's expression started to change, Donnie hadn't taken his eyes off Spike at all and slowly the puzzled look began to change, first being replaced with one of wonder, before changing to sudden realization, and Mikey knew what was going to happen before Donnie practically shouted out. "The explosion!" The purple banded turtle said louder than he had meant to

"How did the explosion yesterday do this?" Leo asked gesturing to Spike.

"I was trying to work on the retro-mutagen when the chemicals became too unstable, but if that was the cause of Spike's mutation, then my theories about how to create the retro-mutagen are clearly way off," Donnie said as he continued studying Spike looking like he wanted to head straight to his lab with the giant turtle right away.

"I will speak with Master Splinter, maybe he'll lift your punishment enough for you to work on this new problem," Leo said, giving his younger brother a small smile before looking back over at Raph and then Spike. "Let's go talk with Splinter," Leo said and he led the way out of the room, Raph and Spike following a moment later.

TBC  
Okay, so this is my first TMNT fanfic, and I hope that the following chapters will be a lot longer than this one! I have some of the later stuff already written down, I'm just trying to get a good handle on how I want this story to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so this chapter has not been beta read, so if there are mistakes I am sorry! There is a note at the end of this chapter, so please have a look.

Chapter 2

Mike looked behind him toward the door of the dojo for what had to be the hundredth time in the past hour. Leo, Raph and Spike had been in there for hours, and Mikey had tried to listen at the door a couple times, only to be scolded by Donnie who was stuck out here with him.

"Come on dude, you can't say you're not curious too," Mikey accused as he turned to face his slightly older brother.

"I am curious, but I know how to practice a little something that I call 'patience'." Donnie said smiling when Mike groaned and fell sideways on the couch so that he was laying down.

"Patience is BORING bro, shell I'd be happy if someone just opened the door long enough to tell us if Spike was staying or not," Mikey said.

"I don't think Master Splinter would just kick him out, he let Leatherhead stay here after all," Donnie pointed out, Mikey smiled and nodded.

"I think it would be awesome if he did stay, it would mean I'm not the youngest any more!" Mikey said with a wide grin as he sat back up to look at Donnie.

Donnie raised an eyeridge at his younger brother. "How do you figure he's younger than you?"

"Because I've been here longer," Mike said still grinning.

"It doesn't work that way Mikey, Spike could very well be older than you are," Donnie pointed out but Mikey shook his head.

"No way dude, his mutation day was yesterday, mine was fifteen years ago, so I'm totally older," Mikey said confidently and Donnie decided to let it go, he already knew that he wasn't going to win this argument. So the olive green turtle turned his attention back to his laptop, and Mikey went back to watching the dojo door.

The silence only lasted for less than three minutes before Mikey looked at DOnnie again. "How much longer do you think they're going to be in there?" Mikey asked.

"They probably have a lot to talk about, trying to decide where Spike is going to sleep, and Leo still has to convince Splinter to lift my punishment, and allow me back into my lab so I can make sure that Spike's mutation is stable," Donnie said and Mikey stared at him tilting his head in confusion. "I have to see if Spike is healthy," Donnie said simplifying it as much as he could.

"He looked fine to me D," Mikey said shifting around on the couch so that he was sitting upside down, his head down by the floor and his feet hanging over the back of the couch, his attention focused mainly on the TV now that one of his favorite shows had come on.

It was nearly another half an hour before the dojo door opened, and Mikey who had seemingly had his full focus on the TV jumped to his feet to watch Leo and Raph come out of the dojo followed by Spike. The first thing that Mikey noticed was that Leo didn't look to happy, however Raph looked extremely pleased, it was a weird switch as usually Raph was the one to look unhappy after a long talk with Splinter.

"So…" Mikey trailed off looking at his two eldest brothers. "Is he gonna stay?" Mikey asked looking over at Spike.

"Yeah, he's staying," Raph answered still looking very happy about this.

"For now," Leo added, earning himself a glare from Raph.

"Why are ya so against him staying Leo?" Raph snapped. "He ain't done anythin' to you!"

Leo clenched his hands into fists turning away to ignore his brother, turning his attention instead toward Donnie. "Splinter said you could use your lab, run whatever tests you need to on Slash," Leo said.

"...uh...Slash?" Donnie asked.

"I wasn't to fond of the name Spike," the larger turtle explained. Mikey grinned widely as he stared at the larger turtle. "What?" Slash finally snapped glaring at Mikey.

"Just trying to decide if you look like a 'Slash' or not," Mikey said. "I'm the one who names things around here, it's kinda my thing."

"Just ignore him, Slash," Raph said and looked to Donnie. "Were you gonna run those tests now, or later?" He asked.

"Now would be better I think," Donnie said and went to his lab, Mike followed after his slightly older brother, before poking his head back out the door to see the others still standing there.

"You comin' dudes? D can't run tests without his test subject," the orange banded turtle grinned ducking back into the lab when Raph shrugged and started leading Slash toward the lab.

-x

They had been in his lab for nearly the whole day while Donnie ran test after test, trying to figure out if the mutagen had had any negative side effects on Slash, though from time to time, Donnie seemed to forget that he had an audience as he ran his tests. "Fascinating," Donnie said as he wheeled his chair from his computer desk over to where he had the microscope set up, "Absolutely fascinating," he said again.

"You're doing it again D," Mikey said and Donnie glanced up at his younger brother who had seated himself on the corner of his desk. Glancing away from Mikey the purple banded turtle looked over to where Spike was seated on the cot, Raph standing not to far away from his former pet turtle.

"Sorry," Donnie apologised wheeling back over to his computer and typing in a few things before turning to face the other two turtles again. "I think I've figured out the base origin of Spike's mutation," Donnie said.

"I've told you already, my name is Slash now," Spike said with a growl.

"Right...sorry," Donnie rubbed the back of his head nervously before clearing his throat and continuing. "My hypothesis was correct that it was in fact the explosion that caused this mutation, but there's a bit more to it than that," Donnie said standing up from his chair watched closely by both Slash and Raph, while Mikey took over the abandoned chair, sitting it and wheeling it from one end of the room to the other.

Donnie ignored Mikey focusing on grabbing a chart and pinning it up on the wall. "This is a diagram that I created, it maps out our basic anatomy,"

"I didn't come in here to sit through Dr. Don's science class," Raph said crossing his arms and glaring at Donnie.

"And if I don't explain all of this, you're not going to understand anything I tell you about what I found out from Slash's mutation," Donnie said.

"I'm not going to understand anything you say anyway D," Mikey said as he wheeled by again on the chair.

"Do you guys want to know any of this or not?" Donnie asked sounding annoyed.

"I'd like to know," Leo said from the doorway, Donnie looked over at his eldest brother giving him a small grateful smile. Leo made his way over to get a better look at the diagram that Donnie had pinned up, even if he didn't fully understand it, Donnie was still happy that one of his brothers at least tried.

"I'll try and keep it simple," Donnie said reaching out and stopping the chair as it rolled by again, the sudden stop sending Mikey falling to the floor.

"Not cool bro," Mikey pouted but made no move to stand up.

"As I was saying," Donnie said looking over at Raph and Slash. "Us four," Donnie indicated himself and his three brothers. "Are basically new species, a turtle human hybrid," he began explaining but paused when he saw the confused look that Mikey was giving him. "We are half turtle, half human," he simplified, "Slash on the other hand has retained most of his turtle genetics,"

"So Slash is basically just a very large turtle that can talk?" Leo asked raising an eye-ridge at his genius brother.

"Yes and no, this is where it gets very complicated, the reason we took on more human traits is because we were exposed to the pure mutagen, right after being handled by a human, Slash on the other hand wasn't exposed to the same mutagen as us, it was modified drastically from it's original form, and was mixed with April's DNA," Donnie said looking at his two older brothers hoping that they at least understood.

"So he's just a very larger turtle that can talk," Mikey said repeating Leo's earlier statement.

"Yes Mikey, he's a very larger turtle that can talk," Donnie said with a long sigh, looking up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, Leo smiled at him.

"Sorry Don, I know there's a more complicated explanation behind this whole thing," Leo said and Donnie returned the smile.

"It's alright Leo, I'm used to this by now," he said then turned once again to look at Slash. "I would still like to run a few more tests, if you're okay with that?" Donnie asked.

"Why do ya need more tests Don?" Raph asked. "He's been here for three days now, his mutation hasn't messed up his head at all," Raph insisted looking to Slash. "Ain't that right buddy?" He asked and Slash nodded his head in agreement.

"I don't feel much different from before, just a lot bigger and stronger, and things make a lot more sense to me now," Slash confirmed.

"Still, this mutation is very different than what we are used to," Donnie insisted. "And it's not only Slash's mental health that I am concerned with, there's a lot of physical changes as well, I've confirmed that you are still more 'turtle' than we are, but how much more? Is your anatomy the same as ours, or have you taken on more human traits there as well because of April's DNA."

Mikey let out a groan falling backwards onto the floor, tilting his head back to look at Slash. "I think Donnie's trying to bore us all to death," he said his frown quickly being replaced with a wide grin. "Dude! I just realised that you haven't even tried pizza yet!" Mikey said jumping to his feet and running out of the lab, his mind set or rectifying the fact that Slash had yet to try pizza.

"Com'on Slash, let's get outta here before Mikey tries to poison us," Raph said.

"Don't go too far Raph," Leo called out seeing both Raph and Slash heading for the door. "We've got an hour before we leave on patrol," Leo said frowning when Raph only waved his hand in acknowledgment that he had heard him, and continued on his way out of the lair.

TBC

Okay so I know that this is a super short chapter, I am sorry for that, I kind of didn't know where to go after this, and as the next part I am writing actually takes place a few months from this point, I didn't want to put such a huge time jump in the middle of the chapter. So...short chapter, but at least things are getting written!

That being said, I am currently looking for someone who would be willing to beta read my TMNT fics for me, I have this one, and I have planned a couple more as well. And while I have a totally awesome beta reader for my Harry Potter stuff, she doesn't know much about TMNT.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning, there will be RAPE in this chapter! It will be marked so you will be able to skip, though it is not explicit, it is still there! you have been warned!**

 **Chapter 3**

Mikey sighed as he sat on the edge of the roof, glancing over in the direction that Leo and Raph had gone off in. The two of them seemed to be arguing more than usual in the past three weeks, ever since it had been decided that Slash had to stay in the lair while the rest of them went on patrol. And no matter what he tried, getting between those two had only gotten him yelled at.

"Hey D," Mikey said, glancing at his purple banded brother.

"Hmm?" Was Donnie's only reply, but Mikey knew that his taller brother was listening to him, even if Donnie didn't look up from what he was currently focused on.

"Do you think that Slash is dangerous?" Mikey asked, and his question must have surprised Donnie, because the purple banded turtle stopped what he was doing, looking up at Mikey with a worried expression.

"Did something happen?" Donnie asked.

Mikey shook his head quickly. "Nah, I was just asking cause ya know, poor guy's been stuck in the lair for the past three weeks. And I was thinking that maybe you guys thought he was dangerous or something, since Leo keeps insisting that Slash isn't ready to come out on patrol with us," Mikey said, lowering his eyes to watch the street below them, it was easy enough to tell that Leo didn't trust Slash, but Mikey couldn't figure out why. But it wouldn't be the first time Mikey had missed something that was obvious to his brothers.

"You actually want him up here, with us?" Donnie asked.

"I wouldn't mind," Mikey shrugged, "I just don't think it's really fair that we get to come up here almost every night, and he has to stay in the Lair, I mean, he's been practicing with Splinter for the past couple weeks, he should have picked up something by now, right?" Mike asked, looking at Donnie hopefully.

Donnie let out a long sigh, standing up and moving to sit next to his only younger brother. "Something like that takes longer than four days, it took fifteen years for Splinter to even let US come up here," watching his younger brother for a moment, noticing how his little brother kept looking off in the direction of Raph and Leo. "Mikey, what is this really about?" Donnie asked. "It can't just be about Spike,"

"Slash," Mikey corrected with a giggle, turning to look back at Donnie.

"Whatever!" Donnie huffed. "Spike, Slash, they're still the same turtle. The point is, you never interacted with him very much before he was mutated, you seemingly had no interest in him at all, so this sudden interest is a bit…"

"Strange?" Mikey offered helpfully.

"For you, nothing is really all that strange," Donnie said, nudging Mikey's shoulder gently. "But yes, it is a bit weird."

"I just think that maybe, if he were allowed up here, Leo and Raph wouldn't fight so much," Mikey said, his gaze drifting back to their older brothers, two rooftops over, where they couldn't exactly hear the fight, but it was easy enough to see that they were having another argument. Donnie looked in the same direction that Mikey was, letting out another sigh and nodded.

"I can understand where you're coming from Mikey, but there are other ways around this, that don't involve bringing Slash up here," Donnie said.

"So, you do think he's dangerous?" Mikey asked, returning to his original question.

"Yes...and no," Donnie said, smiling when Mikey let out a groan. "Let me finish," Donnie chuckled. "Right now, Slash seems to be doing OK, he has been helping in the Lair, and hasn't complained once about being stuck there, while we four are up here almost every night," Donnie said, waiting for Mikey to nod his head to indicate that he understood so far. "Going by that, no I don't think he's dangerous. But he still has the mutagen in his system, and it's still unstable, so there is no telling what will set him off, and who will get hurt if that happens,"

"So…" Mikey trailed off, looking thoughtful, and Donnie waited, knowing that Mikey was just trying to piece things together in his own head in a way he could understand best. "He's a good guy, but the mutagen could still make him go crazy, and you would rather he not go crazy where he could hurt lots of people, or hurt us?" Mikey said.

"Yes," Donnie said, smiling wider, happy that his brother actually understood it.

"So, if that's the case, why are we leaving him alone with Splinter?" Mikey frowned.

"Because Splinter is also aware of what could happen, and is more capable than us to take Slash down if it comes to that," Donnie said and stood up, holding his hand out for Mikey. "Now, let's go put a stop to whatever Leo and Raph are fighting about now, and get patrol done so we can go home early tonight," Donnie said.

"I'm totally with you on that one bro!" MIkey said taking Donnie's hand and standing up. Mikey waited while Donnie packed up the few bits of equipment he had, before the two of them ran off, jumping from one building to another, as they got closer, it was easier for them to catch what their brothers were fighting about this time. Though that wasn't truly necessary, as it was the same argument they had been having over the past three weeks.

"I'm not saying it again, Raph. Slash isn't coming on patrol with us, not until we are sure it's safe," Leo said, his voice stern, and seeming unfazed by his slightly younger brothers temper, as Raph stood there glaring at him, growling softly.

"You won't even give him a chance! You're too scared of what MIGHT happen, that even though he has proven that he hasn't been affected by his mutation, you still insist on keeping him locked up like...like...some animal!" Raph shouted.

"I am just doing what is best for this team!" Leo shot back.

"Bullshit!" Raph growled, clenching his fists tighter.

"Um...guys?" Donnie asked, looking between his two older brothers.

"It's not bullshit, it is a possibility that Slash could still be dangerous," Leo pointed out. "I would rather that be somewhere contained, and not out here, or while we are on an actual mission!"

"Guys," Donnie spoke up again, exchanging a look with Mikey when neither Raph or Leo seemed to hear them.

"GUYS!" Mikey yelled, grinning when identical looks of shock were directed at him.

"If you two are finished drawing attention to us, maybe we could finish up here at some point tonight, and actually go home before sunrise?" Donnie asked.

"This ain't none of your business!" Raph snapped.

"It is, Mikey and I managed to get all the way over here, stand right next to both of you, and neither of you noticed us," Donnie pointed out.

"Yeah dude, we didn't even have to ninja you!" Mikey said with a grin. "We could have probably even taken you both out if we wanted!"

"Not likely," Raph grunted.

"Alright," Leo spoke up, cutting Mikey off before his youngest brother could continue talking. "Let's finish up, and head home," Leo said.

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere," a new voice spoke up as Rahzar stepped out of the shadows.

"The Master would like a few words with you," Fishface spoke next, coming to stand next to the giant dog like creature.

All four of the turtles were on their guard, weapons in hand, their backs pressed together so they could watch for any possible attack from any side as Footbots came out to surround them.

"What makes you think any of us would go with you willingly?" Raph snarled.

"Oh, I knew it wouldn't be willingly, it's no fun if you cooperate." Rahzar snarled, a grin twisting his already hideous features.

-x

The four brothers slowly made their way back down to the Lair, the only sound being made as they walked was Raph's grumbling, as he was being supported by Leo and Donnie, since he wasn't able to put weight on his left leg that was heavily bandaged.

Mikey hovered awkwardly around his three brothers, wanting to do something to help, but knowing that Leo and Donnie were already doing enough for the grumpy turtle.

"When we get back, I'll make you whatever you want Raphie," Mikey said, trying to sound as light hearted and cheerful as he usually did, though it was difficult. This was made a little difficult due to the fact that Raph had been ignoring him since they got into the sewers.

"That's a good idea, Mikey," Donnie said, when it was obvious that Raph wasn't going to say anything.

"Yeah, why don't you run on ahead and get some food started now? We'll be right behind you," Leo suggested. Mikey looked between his three brothers, before his eyes landed on Raph once more, when Raph didn't even look at him, Mikey nodded slowly. With a crestfallen expression, the youngest turtle did as he was told.

Mikey paused just before he took the tunnel that would lead him to the Lair, glancing back to his brothers, he saw that they had stopped walking, he was curious and wanted to know what they were talking about, but Mikey knew he had pushed his luck a lot tonight, after all it was mostly his fault Raph had gotten hurt in the first place. So Mikey turned and continued on his way into the Lair.

Splinter was waiting by the turnstyles, his ear twitched as he gave Mikey a curious look. "Welcome back, Michelangelo, where are your brothers?" Splinter questioned.

"Raph was hurt, Donnie and Leo are helping him," Mikey explained, shifting a little nervously as he usually wasn't the one to give Splinter the details about their patrol.

"Raph is hurt?" Slash asked, and Mikey looked over toward the pit where the large turtle was standing.

"Yeah, it was just his leg though, Donnie already has it wrapped up," Mikey said, smiling Slash, who didn't return the smile. Letting out a low growl, Slash moved forward, heading for the entrance of the Lair.

"Slash," Splinter said, gaining the large turtles attention. "If Michelangelo says that Raph is alright, then he is," Splinter said.

"Yeah, his leg was just caught by Rhazar's claws," Mikey explained. "It bled a lot, but Donnie said it was fine and wrapped it up no problem," Mikey grinned. "I'm going to make some food for everyone now! I'll be in the kitchen!" Mikey said and hurried passed Splinter and Slash.

It was as Mikey started getting the pots and pans out that he needed to start cooking, that he heard his brothers return, or rather, he heard Raph return, and assumed that Donnie and Leo were still helping him walk.

"I said I was alright! Now lemme walk on my own!" Raph's voice echoed through the Lair as he shouted and complained.

"I don't care! The bandage is fine, I don't need no stitches!" Raph growled, a few moments later Mikey heard the sound of a door slamming, and knew that Raph had retreated to his room. Letting out a long sigh, Mikey returned to his self appointed task of making food for everyone.

Mikey started humming to himself as he worked, putting all his focus on what he was doing in the kitchen, that he didn't notice he was being watched at first. As the youngest turtle turned around, intending to grab something from the fridge, he nearly jumped out of his shell when he saw Slash standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey dude," Mikey said, giving him a wide grin. "You wanna help?" Mikey offered, frowning when Slash just narrowed his eyes at him. "Uh...or not," he said, laughing nervously as Slash continued to glare at him for a moment.

"I told ya I could get my own drink, Slash," Raph's voice broke whatever tance Slash seemed to be in, the larger turtle blinked a couple times, before looking down at Raph who pushed passed him and into the kitchen.

"Raphie!" Mikey said happily, seeing his second oldest brother. "I'm making you some food, you never said what you wanted-"

"I'm not hungry," Raph snapped.

Mikey didn't seem put off at all by Raph's attitude, far too used to his brothers temper. "You don't have to eat it now, but I wanted to make you something, so that when you ARE hungry, you can have it," Mikey insisted.

"If you want to do somethin' for me, then just go get me a pizza, and get away from me for a while, before you cause any more damage!" Raph growled.

"One extra large, meat lovers pizza coming right up!" Mikey said, grinning widely and giving his brother a salute.

"Just get outta here, knucklehead," Raph said, shaking his head as he made his way to the fridge to retrieve the soda.

Mikey gave Raph a hug on his way by, before he scurried passed Slash, not hearing the low growl that came from the larger turtle.

"Ya alright Slash?" Raph asked, looking over at his friend.

"I'm fine Raph, it's late, I'm going to bed," Slash said, looking back at the red banded turtle. "I'm glad you're not to badly hurt," he said, giving him a small smile, before turning and leaving the kitchen. Raph raised an eyebrow at the retreating turtle, but shrugged and poured himself a glass of soda, making a mental note to have April bring them some more as he finished off the bottle.

-x

Mikey groaned as he slowly felt himself waking up, his head was pounding and his whole body hurt, which wasn't to strange considering the fight they had gotten into with the footbots, Rahzar and Fishface earlier that night. What was strange about him suddenly coming back to consciousness though, was that the last thing he remembered, he had been going to get pizza.

"Finally awake," a voice cut into his thoughts and Mikey groaned again as he forced his eyes open. The first thing that greeted him was darkness, and for a moment he thought that he might be blind folded, however blinking a few times his eyes slowly adjusted and he could make out a large shape of something standing right in front of him.

"Slash...?" Mikey asked blinking again as he finally recognised the shape of the creature in front of him. "Dude, what happened? I feel like Raph was using me for a personal punching bag," Mikey said as he tried to sit up only to find his hands were stuck, being held down to a table by a chain that was wrapped almost painfully around his wrists.

"Slash?" Mikey asked eyeing the shadow that was still standing in front of him, he was fairly sure that it was Slash, but it was more than a little creepy when the other turtle wasn't answering him. "Dude...what's going on?" Mikey asked pulling at the chains that held his hands, he couldn't remember how he had gotten here, and the fact that Slash was just standing there instead of helping him was starting to worry him.

"I'm teaching you a lesson, Michelangelo," Slash finally spoke only adding to Mikey's confusion.

"Lesson?" Mikey asked. "If you wanted to teach me something there's better ways to get me to listen that don't involve chaining me up," Mikey said with a nervous laugh.

"A lesson about what happens, when you hurt Raphael," Slash's voice was a near constant growl now and Mikey swallowed hard when he heard it.

"Um...alright dude, lesson learned," Mikey said, smiling weakly up at the larger turtle.

"Raphael is to soft for his own good" Slash continued, ignoring the fact that Mikey had even spoken at all, "I believe that he forgave you to easily, but how are you going to learn anything if everyone just let's you do whatever you want," Slash growled pulling the chains even tighter until he saw Mikey wince from the slight pain.

"I do learn things!" Mikey said staring up at the large turtle that seemed to be looming over him. "I may not be super smart like Donnie, but I know stuff."

"All you know is how to play games, you are useless to your brothers and this team, and if someone doesn't teach you that your actions can have painful consequences, then next time it may not just be someone getting hurt, I will not stand by and watch as your uselessness gets Raphael killed!" Slash roared in anger causing Mikey to shrink back as much as possible.

"W-what?" Mikey asked, stuttering as he stared at Slash with wide eyes. He couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. "Dude I don't even know what you're talking about! We got into a fight, and Raph got hurt, it happens!" Mikey said, pulling at the chains holding him down. "And I would never let my brother get killed! Besides, Raph knows how to take care of himself, unless you have so little faith in his abilities-" Mikey didn't even get to finish that sentence before he was punched in the stomach so hard that all the air left his lungs. Curling up as much as he could Mikey tried to pull new air into his lungs.

Slash just stood there watching as Mikey struggled to breath. Long minutes passed as the younger turtle gasped for air like a fish out of water until finally he managed to get his breathing under control.

"It is you that doesn't know anything about Raphael's abilities, you and your brothers, all you do is hold him back from his true potential, but I was willing to let that slide because you are his family, and even I understand that at the moment Raphael still believes that he needs you," Slash growled grabbing Mikey's legs and forcing the orange banded turtle to uncurl himself, pulling Mikey's legs until they were laying straight again.

"There's something wrong with your head bro!" Mikey gasped out staring at Slash, trying not to let it show how truly scared he was getting in this situation, he was helpless in this position.

"When I am finished everyone will see how useless you are," Slash hissed, in one move he flipped Mikey over so that the smaller turtle was laying on his plastron.

Mikey didn't like this new position at all, it made it impossible to see what Slash was doing. An unpleasant shiver ran through him when he felt that large hand moving up his leg, the way Slash was touching him made something twist unpleasantly in his stomach, making him almost glad about the fact that he had never gotten his pizza.

"If you let me go we can maybe just talk about this?" Mikey offered trying to look over his shoulder at Slash, but the larger turtle was apparently finished talking now. Those hands continued running up and down his legs, spreading them a little further apart making Mikey feel more exposed than he had ever felt before.

The hands moved from his legs up to his hips, lifting him off the table slightly. Mike thought he heard Slash let out a soft groan but didn't have any time to register it when something hard pressed up against his tail. Straining even more trying to wiggle free from his captor, wanting to turn and see what Slash was doing, but moving was near impossible with Slash holding his hips. He almost wished that Slash would continue talking, this sudden near silence was more worrisome than everything that Slash had been saying before. A hand moved briefly from his hip grabbing his tail and pulling it up and away from his body.

-RAPE-

"What are you-" the question died suddenly in his throat as something began pushing against him, the pressure continued building and Mikey kicked one of his legs out in an attempt to get away from whatever that thing was. Slash's hands tightened painfully on his hips and with one more push the pressure suddenly became a searing pain starting from his tail and going all the way up his back.

Blue eyes widened as an impossibly loud scream was suddenly ripped from him. Kicking and struggling harder than he had before, Mikey paid no attention to the metal links that were digging into his skin drawing blood, the pain of that was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He felt Slash pressing fully against him now, the larger turtles hips flush with his own. Mikey had a brief thought that maybe that was it, maybe Slash was done with him now, but he didn't even get a chance to build on that possibility of hope before that thing inside him suddenly pulled out before it was slammed back in, back arching Mikey scrambled to get away from the pain that was ripping him apart, tearing through his skin right down to his very soul.

It was a nightmare, it had to be, nothing in real life could ever hurt this bad. So Mikey did what he always did when stuck in the middle of a nightmare, he called for his brothers."Leo! Donnie!" Mikey screamed, tears falling rapidly down his cheeks as he felt Slash moving behind him, the warm sticky feeling of blood flowing down his thighs made Mikey dry heave. "RAPH!" Mikey screamed as loud as he could, coughing as his stomach clenched painfully causing him to dry heave again. "...please..." Mikey closed his eyes tightly wishing for someone, anyone to make this horrible pain stop. His mind couldn't even process what was happening to him, just that this pain was worse than anything he had ever felt, leaving him feeling raw and exposed.

"Useless," Slash hissed in his ear, another stabbing pain shooting up Mikey's back as that peace of hard flesh pulled out and pushed back into him. "Worthless, you deserve worse than this," Slash said and Mikey continued to cry, trying not to listen to what Slash was saying to him, and though Mikey wasn't sure if it was even possible, but those words seemed to make the pain even worse until all he could do was lay there crying like the child he was, each stab of pain, each harsh word cutting him open for the world to see.

Mikey was horrified to notice that despite the pain, despite how much he wanted all this to stop, his body still seemed to be reacting to what Slash was doing to him. The realisation of this only caused Mikey to cry harder. He wasn't sure how long this pain lasted, how long Slash kept him pinned to the table, but he was sure it must have been hours, when with one final stab he felt something hot and wet flooding his insides making his stomach turn violently.

-END RAPE-

And just as suddenly as all this had started, the warm body leaning over him was gone, but the pain was still there making it difficult for Mikey to even move, but he still managed to curl up tightly, harsh sobs shook his body, his mind was nothing more than a haze of confusion and pain.

"Remember this lesson, if you hurt Raphael again, I'll repeat this lesson until it sinks into that stupid brain of yours," Slash said grabbing Mikey's wrists and pulling the chains loose before dropping the still sobbing turtle back onto the table he had been on.

Mikey was vaguely aware of footsteps walking away, and suddenly he was alone. The cold feeling settled over him like an icy blanket, the only thought going through Mikey's head was that no one had come for him, he had screamed for each of his brothers, wanting someone to wake him from this nightmare he was now trapped in, but for the first time in his life, no one had come.

He lay there crying silently to himself, each small movement he made caused another twinge of pain to shoot through his body, he wanted nothing more than to be home in bed, to wake up and find out that this was nothing but a horrible nightmare, and his brothers would be there, they would comfort him and whatever effects this dream had on him would be gone within the hour, things would be normal and he would forget all about this pain. But as Mikey moved again, attempting to sit up, he knew that this wasn't a nightmare he was going to wake up from.

tbc

Okay, so here is chapter three, :( poor Mikey, I am so mean to him. I would like to say the hard part is over, but it really isn't, Mikey now has to deal with the aftermath of what happened, which can be a lot more difficult. I have already started on chapter 4, though with my work and writing schedule, I do not know when it will be finished.  
Also, as I do not have a Beta Reader for this fanfic, if you see any MAJOR mistakes, or something that doesn't seem right, just point it out to me, and I will do my best to fix it! :D


	4. Chapter 4

I've had my beta reader go over this chapter for me, so most of the spelling/grammar mistakes SHOULD be fixed, but if anyone notices something, please let me know!

Warning: This chapter, and all fallowing chapters may be triggering!

Chapter 4

It had been a struggle, and had taken longer than he had really wanted it to, but Mikey could finally see the entrance to the Lair. His legs were shaking, threatening to give out on him, but he pushed himself onward, leaning against the wall for support, doing his best to stay quiet. The last thing he wanted was to be caught by one of his brothers, and questioned about where he had been all night.

Looking into the Lair, Mikey was thankful that the only light was the one coming from Donnie's lab, his brainiac brother most likely having gotten absorbed into one of his many projects. Mikey was usually the one to pull his brother out of the lab, making the purple banded turtle go to bed and get something resembling actual sleep, but he knew if he did that tonight, Donnie would know instantly that something had happened, and Mikey wasn't sure he could answer the questions Donnie would ask him.

Taking a deep breath and still trying to be as quiet as he could, Mikey pushed his way past the turnstiles, as he didn't think he would be able to jump over them like usual. Mikey made his way down the hall toward their rooms. He desperately wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. However, despite the tempting call of his bed, and the option to not be on his feet any more, Mikey wanted a shower more than anything else.

Still using the wall for support, Mikey made it to the bathroom, pushing the door shut behind him and locking it. The small turtle leaned against the door, taking one deep breath after another as he waited for the stabbing pain in his backside to settle down to a throb again.

"Come on, you can do this," Mikey told himself, wincing as his throat also hurt from the amount of screaming he had done. Shaking his head, Mikey pushed himself slowly away from the door, stumbling across the room to the shower; turning it on, Mikey frowned at the state of his wrists. The bleeding there had stopped hours ago, but as the water started pouring down on him, washing away the blood and other bodily fluids, the cuts began to sting again.

Forcing himself to stay standing, as he was sure if he let his legs give out on him, he wouldn't be getting up again that night, Mikey reached for one of the cloths and started cleaning himself off. He was watching the blood stained water swirl down the drain and vanish, all the evidence of what had happened was gone, but Mikey didn't stop scrubbing himself off; he could still feel those large hands on him, and so Mikey scrubbed harder, trying to get rid of the sick crawling feeling on his skin.

Mikey choked on a sob as he continued scrubbing vigorously, until it was almost painful to even be under the shower spray any more. Leaning against the wall, Mikey let the tears fall freely down his cheeks, his whole body hurt. His skin felt raw from the scrubbing and the hot water, but he had washed himself twice over already, and the feeling still remained.

Deciding it was useless to keep washing himself, he turned the water off and left the bathroom, leaving a small trail of water as he hadn't bothered drying himself off. He made it to his room, closing and locking the door behind him. He stumbled through the mess in his room, before collapsing on the bed, curling up tightly as he pulled his blanket over himself, falling into a fitful sleep.

-x

Getting himself out of bed in the morning had been difficult, but Mikey had somehow managed it, doing his best to hide how much pain he was actually in. He still wasn't sure how he was even going to talk to his brothers, though he knew that he would have to. If Slash had attacked him, then it was possible that the large turtle could attack his brothers as well, and as much as Mikey wanted to just forget everything about last night, he wasn't willing to put his brothers in possible danger of having the same thing happen to them.

Making his way out to the main part of the Lair, Mikey did his best not to lean against the wall for support; even though he was still in pain, he didn't want his brothers to worry. Pausing at the end of the hall, Mikey looked around the Lair, frowning when he didn't see Leo or Donnie anywhere, and Raph was focused on beating his punching bag.

Chewing on his lower lip, Mikey silently debated with himself; he could wait to talk to his brothers, until all three were present, but that thought wasn't all that appealing. He didn't want to have all three of them focused on him, while he tried to explain what had happened. Just the mental image of his three brothers surrounding him was nearly enough to send Mikey bolting back to his room.

Shaking that mental image from his head, Mikey fixed his eyes on Donnie's lab door; it was closed, which meant that his super smart brother was busy, and Mikey knew he didn't like being disturbed when he was working on a project.

Mikey turned his attention next to the door of the Dojo, where Leo was most likely either meditating, or having a private lesson with Master Splinter, something else that Mikey knew better than to interrupt. That only left Raph. Baby blue eyes drifted over to where the red banded turtle was. Raph really wasn't his first choice, but Mikey knew that if he put off talking to his brothers, he would lose his nerve. Then there was the fact that Slash was Raph's friend, so it only seemed fair that he was the first one Mikey talked to.

Taking a deep breath, Mikey moved the few short painful steps toward his brother, though he remained out of arm's reach. Standing back and watching as his older brother swung at the punching bag, Mikey tried to work up enough courage to begin the conversation.

"Are ya gonna stand there and watch me all day, or do ya have somethin' to say?" Raph asked as he swung his fist, connecting with the punching bag once more before he turned to look at Mikey.

"I...I wanted to talk to you, about Slash…" Mikey said, clenching his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

"What about him?" Raph asked, raising an eyeridge at him.

"Slash...he...he did something," Mikey began but paused when he saw Raph roll his eyes.

"Did he finally get you back for that prank you pulled last week? Serves you right," Raph snapped, not noticing how the harsh tone of voice was affecting his baby brother."You seriously deserved whatever he did to ya, maybe you'll think before you pull another prank," Raph said, ready to turn back to his punching bag, but paused, a look of confusion crossing his face when he saw how pale Mikey suddenly looked. "Mikey?" Raph asked, suddenly concerned. He took a step toward Mikey but the smaller turtle was already backing away from him.

Mikey shook his head slowly, his eyes wide as he stared at Raph, when his brother took another step toward him, Mikey didn't wait to find out what his brother was going to say, or do, he just turned and ran from the room.

Raph stared at the spot Mikey had been standing in only a second ago. Any other time, Raph would just shrug it off and go back to what he had been doing, but the look of fear on Mikey's face had Raph following his youngest brother.

He found Mikey in the bathroom, kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet emptying the contents of his stomach, which if Raph remembered correctly, wasn't much since Mikey hadn't been at breakfast that morning.

"Mikey?" Raph was unsure of what to do, he wanted to help, but he had never been good with the whole comforting thing. As Mikey dry heaved again, Raph reached to put a hand on Mikey's shoulder, wanting to give what comfort he could.

Normal Mikey behavior would have had the younger turtle leaning into the comforting hand, soaking up whatever attention he could get. The reaction that Raph got, however, was so out of place it actually frightened the red banded turtle.

"Don't touch me!" Mikey screamed, smacking Raph's hand away, the sudden movement causing Mikey to fall back, crying out again in pain as his tail hit the floor.

Raph stood up quickly, backing away from his brother and holding his hands up where Mikey could see them. This didn't seem to help very much, as Mikey still looked terrified, even going as far as to push himself back even further from Raph, until his carapace hit the bathroom wall. Even though he was as far back as he could possibly get, Mikey still tried to push himself even further away.

"Don't touch me…" Mikey said again, wrapping his arms tightly around himself as he felt his body start shaking.

Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, the more air he pulled into his lungs, the less he seemed to be getting, his head was spinning, his whole body was shaking, and he felt trapped. There was no where else for him to go, and so he did the only thing he could do, he pulled himself fully into his shell.

"Mikey? Come on, little bro, talk to me," Raph said coming into the bathroom and kneeling on the floor in front of the younger turtle, trying and failing to coax him out of his shell. His mind was working over what he could have said or done to make his brother have such a reaction, but he had said nothing, and had treated Mikey no differently than usual.

Mikey didn't reply, just remained in his shell, hiding away from everything, closing his eyes tightly. He could hear Raph come further onto the bathroom, and right now he wished more than anything that he hadn't tried talking to anyone. Maybe it was just as Raph said, he had deserved what he got. After all, Slash had told him the same thing, he was useless.

"That's it, I'm going to get Leo and Donnie," Raph said, and Mikey heard him leave the bathroom. He didn't want Leo or Donnie in here, he didn't need to hear it from his other two brothers, he knew he was useless. Raph had pretty much confirmed that by saying that he deserved what Slash had done to him. Though a small voice in the back of his mind tried to rationalize that Raph didn't know what Slash had done, but that didn't matter, his red banded brother could clearly see how useless he was now.

Mikey heard footsteps coming back toward the bathroom. Baby-blue eyes went wide in panic, knowing it was his brothers. Mikey did the first thing that came to mind. Coming out of his shell, he stumbled to his feet and over to the bathroom door, slamming it shut and locking it. A moment later he heard knocking on the door, followed by Leo's voice.

"Mikey? Are you okay?" Leo asked, and Mikey would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it, had he not felt more like crying instead.

"Go away," Mikey said, leaning against the door and sliding down to his knees.

"Raph said you were sick," Donnie spoke next.

"I'm fine now, go away," Mikey said again, hoping his brothers would listen to him, though he already knew that wouldn't happen. It didn't stop him from trying to get them to leave.

"You're not fine!" Raph bellowed through the door, his fist pounding on it, making the door shudder. "If ya were fine, ya wouldn't have locked the door!" Raph growled. Mikey had to admit that Raph was right about that at least. He didn't want all three of his brothers in here, he didn't want to talk to them anymore. But staying locked in the bathroom wasn't going to make them go away either.

Hands shaking, Mikey got to his feet and, preparing himself to be bombarded with three worried brothers, he reached out and clicked the lock open. He didn't bother opening the door for them, instead he shifted away, hoping to put some distance between himself and them as they came into the bathroom.

The door swung open, and Mikey stared at his three older brothers. "Well, at least he's outta his shell," Raph said, stepping into the bathroom again, but paused when he saw Mikey step backwards like he had before.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Leo asked, having also noticed his baby brother move away from them.

"I… I…" Mikey tried to form the words, tried to call back up the courage he had had before, but his throat felt tight, and his eyes stung with unshed tears.

"Mikey, what happened to your wrists?" Leave it to Donnie to be the first to notice the cuts and bruising around the wrists.

Instead of answering him, Mikey looked down at his own wrists, his hands clenching into fists. Looking at the small cuts and bruising, Mikey was sure that if Donnie got close enough to see them, he too would see the obvious outline of the chain that had been wrapped tightly around Mikey's wrists. A hand came into Mikey's line of sight, and his head snapped up, baby-blue eyes widened when he noticed how close Donnie was to him now.

"Don't touch me!" Mikey screamed, backing up further, though he could only go a couple more steps before his shell hit the wall, shifting along the wall until he was literally backed into the corner of the room. "D-don't… don't touch m-me,"

"See!" Raph said. "That's what he did ta me!" Raph looked at Leo, but the oldest turtle didn't look at him, instead he was studying Mikey.

"Mikey, look at me," Leo said, taking a step forward. "We won't touch you, but you have to tell us what happened," he said, trying not to make it sound as if he were ordering Mikey.

"I…" Mikey stared at Leo, his eyes flickering from him to Donnie, who was still standing closest to him, then back to Raph. "...can't, I can't." Tears started falling down Mikey's cheeks. "I can't tell… I… I… useless." Mikey sank slowly down until he was sitting on the floor again, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms tightly around them. "Useless, deserved it…no one came…" Mikey babbled as harsh sobs shook his body.

"Raph, go get Master Splinter," Leo finally said, more than a little alarmed at the state his baby brother was in. Raph didn't even protest about being ordered out of the bathroom, leaving once again, this time to get Splinter while Donnie and Leo did their best to try and calm Mikey down.

Donnie knelt on the floor in front of the smaller turtle, though still kept his distance, not wanting to upset Mikey even more than he already was. "Mikey,"

"Don't touch me," Mikey said again, not lifting his head to look at Donnie.

"I won't touch you, I promise, but you're going to have to show me your wrists, those look pretty bad," Donnie said, frowning when Mikey shook his head.

"Mikey, what are you scared of?" Leo asked, coming to kneel next to Donnie, his dark blue eyes fixed on his trembling baby brother.

"...hurts...deserved it...Raph said I did...they both said I did…" Mikey gasped out between sobs.

Leo looked at Donnie, who shook his head; Mikey wasn't making much sense and was clearly getting worked up about whatever had happened. "Mikey, you have to calm down, take deep breaths, it's going to be okay," Donnie instructed. "We just want to help…"

"No one helped!" Mikey cried, his breathing speeding up, baby-blue eyes locked onto Donnie's reddish brown ones as Mikey lifted his head to look at his brainiac brother. "No one helped me!"

"We're trying to help you, Mikey," Leo said, reaching out, hoping to reassure and calm his baby brother down, but he stopped when Mikey let out an animalistic hiss, pulling himself slightly back into his shell.

"What is going on?" Splinter's voice came from the doorway; Leo turned to look at him, while Donnie kept his attention on Mikey.

"Sensei, Mikey's hurt," Leo said. "He won't tell us what's wrong."

"You crowding him does not seem to be helping," Splinter said, turning his attention from Leo to Mikey. "Michelangelo," Splinter kept his voice soft, so as not to upset his youngest any further than he already was.

The orange banded turtle slowly lifted his head to look at Splinter, though he didn't say anything, watching as the tall rat stepped into the bathroom. Donnie and Leo stood up, making space for their father to come and kneel in front of Mikey.

"What has happened, my son?" Splinter asked, keeping his eyes locked with Mikey's.

Mikey stared at his father, tears still falling freely down his cheeks. "He… He hurt me," Mikey said softly.

Splinter frowned, taking in the bruising on Mikey's wrists, but he could sense that his youngest was hurting far worse than just physically. "Michelangelo, me and your brothers wish to help you, we can not do this until we know what has happened," Splinter said, frowning when Mikey just closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, drawing further into his shell again.

"H-he hurt me… it hurts… they said I deserved it.." Mikey sounded tired and confused, and Splinter felt his heart ache for his son. He silently swore that whoever had caused his son such pain, was going to pay.

"Who said you deserved to be hurt?" Leo asked.

"...Raph…" Mikey said, not looking at Leo.

Raph stood in the doorway, green eyes widening, his focus on Mikey, even as everyone else in the bathroom now had their attention on the hot headed turtle.

"Raph," Leo began.

"I didn't do anythin'!" Raph denied, looking to Splinter, silently pleading for his father to believe him. "I swear I didn't do nothin'," Raph said, even though no one else had accused him, he felt like he had to defend himself.

"Then why did Mikey say-"

"I don't know!" Raph snapped.

"Raphael," Splinter spoke firmly, "no one is accusing you of hurting your brother to this extent," Splinter said, knowing that while his sons did tend to fight, as most siblings would, he did not believe that any of them would be able to cause one another such pain.

"I wish to speak with Michelangelo alone," Splinter said, watching as his other three sons exchanged worried looks, Leo was the first to nod his head.

"Come on you two," Leo put his hand on Donnie's arm, gently pulling him out of the bathroom with him. The two stopped in the door and looked at Raph, who was still standing there, his focus on Mikey who remained curled up on the floor.

"Raphael," Splinter spoke again, looking at his second oldest son. Raph's attention snapped toward Splinter for a moment before he turned sharply and pushed passed Leo and Donnie on his way out of the bathroom.

Leo closed the door behind him, allowing his father and youngest brother to have some privacy, while he and Donnie went to the main room in the Lair. Splinter waited until the door clicked shut, before he turned back toward Mikey, his youngest and smallest son looked so lost and confused. Splinter could also see quite clearly how much pain Mikey was in, every time he shifted, trying to keep himself as small as possible.

"My son, please tell me what has happened," Splinter said, gently encouraging Mikey to tell him, so that they could start working toward fixing it.

-x

Leo was worried that they would have to go and hunt Raph down, since an angry or upset Raph usually meant that the red banded turtle had gone topside. However they found Raph pacing back and forth in front of the couch, pausing every few steps to punch or kick something that was close by.

"He's going to hurt his leg more if he keeps that up," Donnie said, though was clearly reluctant to be the one to put himself in his angry brothers path.

Leo sighed, and stepped forward, "Raph," he began, but didn't get to say much more as the red banded turtle turned toward him and shouted.

"I didn't hurt him!" Raph said, and had this been anyone else Leo might not have believed them, because no one was actually accusing Raph of hurting Mikey. But Leo knew his slightly younger brother, and Raph would never hurt someone like that, especially if they were a friend or family.

"I never said you did," Leo said.

"No but he did!" Raph growled, pointing I the direction of the bathroom where they had left Mikey.

"Actually, Mikey just said you told him he deserved it, he said that's what you both said…" Donnie spoke looking thoughtful.

"Both?" Leo asked, but Donnie shook his head.

"The only name he mentioned was Raph," Donnie said looking at his slightly older brother. "Who isn't the one who hurt him," he added quickly seeing the anger on Raph's face.

"No, I didn't. I may push him around a bit now and then for his own good, but I'd never hurt him that much, he's NEVER been scared of me before!" Raph said, clearly upset about the fact that anyone would even accuse him of hurting one of his brothers to the point they didn't even want to be touched.

"Mikey appeared to be scared of all of us," Donnie pointed out.

"Exactly," Leo confirmed, "but why?" Leo looked to Raph. "You're the only one who saw him this morning, before he freaked out."

"I didn't do nothing! He was just talkin' ta me," Raph said.

"What were you talking about?" Donnie asked before Leo could continue speaking.

"Nothing important, the twerp said he wanted ta talk," Raph trailed off, thinking over the brief conversation and what had been said. A look of horrified realization crossed Raph's face.

"Raph?" Donnie asked, concerned with how quiet Raph had gotten, the red banded turtle said nothing, instead Raph hurried passed his brothers, going down the hall in the direction of their rooms. He passed the doors leading to their own rooms, before coming to stop at the last door that lead to their extra room, one that April had used when she stayed down here, and the room that now belonged to Slash.

Raph pounded on the door. "Slash, open up! We gotta talk!" Raph growled, ignoring Leo and Donnie who had followed him down the hall. Growling again when the door remained closed, Raph pounded on the door again.

"Raph, move," Leo said, he didn't know why, but Raph clearly thought that Slash either had something to do with Mikey's injuries, or perhaps knew something about them, either way, Leo also wanted answers from the large turtle. Reaching out, Leo tried the doorknob, half expecting it to be locked. His frown deepened as the door slowly swung open, the hinges squeaking softly and Leo slowly pushed the door open, his eyes already scanning the dark room for any signs of Slash.

"I don't think he's in here," Leo said, pushing the door open further, reaching out and flicking on the light, scanning the room once more before his eyes landed on something. He crossed the room while Donnie and Raph came in behind him.

An angry growl sounded through the room, and Leo turned quickly, focusing in on the sound and frowned when he saw Raph, eyes whited out and narrowed as he stared at the wall. "I'm gonna kill him!" Raph yelled. Leo turned his attention toward where Raph was looking, and had to suppress his own angry growl when he saw what Raph was looking at.

There were pictures of them taped to the wall, Leo suspected they had been left in here when April had vacated the room. But what Leo and Raph were now focused on, were the claw marks that had been slashed through Mikey's picture.

"Not if I get to him first," Leo said, though his voice was calmer than Raph's, it had more of an icy edge to it.

"No one's killing anyone," Donnie said, taking a step back when he had two angry brothers now glaring at him. "We have to find him first, and we still don't know what he did to Mikey," Donnie pointed out.

"Does it matter what he did to him? He hurt him! That's all I need to know!" Raph yelled.

"He's your friend," Leo said, turning his angry stare toward his hotheaded brother now. "If he's not here, where do you think he would go?" Leo asked.

"How the fuck would I know that?" Raph shouted. "He ain't no friend of mine! He's not Spike anymore, he's some...some…"

"Animal," Leo growled. "We never should have allowed him to stay here! I knew he was dangerous."

"You didn't know anything! All you did was assume he was, just because he had a bit of a temper!"

"He's attacked our little brother, and you're STILL defending him!" Leo hissed, taking a step toward Raph, when Donnie was suddenly standing between the two of them.

"ENOUGH!" Donnie shouted, taking both angry turtles by surprise. "It doesn't matter what happened, who was right, who was wrong! What matters is that Mikey was hurt, badly, and the only thing we know right now is that it was most likely Slash that did it, we also know that he is obviously NOT here anymore, which means he is most likely out in the sewers somewhere!" Donnie said, looking from Leo to Raph.

"I never had the chance to complete my tests, so it may be that his mind has been messed up from the mutagen," Donnie continued, looking back to Leo. "That does NOT mean I am going to forgive him for whatever he did to Mikey! But you two arguing right now isn't helping anything!" Donnie finished yelling, taking a deep breath and calming himself down. He wasn't used to letting himself get so worked up, but he couldn't stand by and let Raph and Leo argue about who was right or wrong about Slash, not when their baby brother was hurting, and scared.

"Donatello is right," Splinter said from the doorway, gaining the attention of his three sons.

"Sensei," Leo said, looking at the rat, then glanced behind him to see if Mikey might be standing there as well.

"Where's Mikey?" Raph asked. "Is he going to be okay?" Raph asked, frowning when Splinter didn't immediately tell them that Mikey was fine, and just needed rest. Instead the rat's ears lowered, and Splinter let out a long sad sigh.

"Michelangelo has told me part of what has happened to him, though I do not believe even he understands fully what happened," Splinter explained.

"What happened to him, Sensei?" Donnie asked.

"Michelangelo has been violated," Splinter said, his ears still flat against his head.

"Violated?" Donnie's eyes widened as his mind quickly pieced things together. "You mean Slash raped him?" Donnie asked in sickening horror, though he didn't need Splinter to answer, the expression on his face was all the confirmation they needed.

Raph let out a loud angry yell and ran toward the door, only to be stopped by Splinter. "Raphael, you must calm down!"

"No!" Raph shouted, struggling even as Leo hurried forward to help hold onto the angry turtle. "I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna kill him!"

"Violence and revenge are not the answer," Splinter said firmly.

"The hell it ain't!" Raph growled.

"That's enough Raph!" Leo said, holding tightly onto his brother. "I want to find him and make him pay too! But running out of the Lair when we don't even know where to look isn't going to help anyone! Mikey needs us here," Leo tried to reason.

"He don't even want to be around us!" Raph elbowed Leo, before looking to Splinter. "I can't let Slash get away with this!"

"He will not get away with it," Splinter reassured Raph, placing a hand on his shoulder. "However Leonardo is correct, you can not go after Slash at the moment, your brother is hurting in more ways than one, but he will need all of us here to help him through what has happened," Splinter said, and though he could still see and sense the anger coming from his three sons, for the moment he knew they would not go after Michelangelo's attacker. However Splinter also knew that he could not stop his sons from seeking out revenge on their brothers behalf. It would be a long trying road ahead for all of them, and only time would tell how much this attack would change his happy and vibrant son.

TBC

Alright! So here is chapter four! :D I had a little trouble with it, but I'm honestly proud of myself for getting it done as fast as I did. (Compared to some of my other fics that haven't been updated since last October) Anyway, I will be starting chapter five soon, and I've also got a good start on another AU TMNT fic ^_^ so keep an eye out fot that!


	5. Chapter 5

This is another heart breaking chapter! May be triggering for some people! You have been warned!

Chapter 5

The Lair was abnormally quiet, and April could feel the heavy atmosphere before she had even stepped foot through the turnstiles. Looking around the Lair, she frowned when she didn't see any of the four turtles. The TV was off, which was strange in itself, Donnie's lab door was shut, though that wasn't as strange, but, as she moved closer, April couldn't hear the normal sounds of Donnie tinkering.

"Hello?" she called out, scanning the room once more, now on her guard. Something seriously wasn't right. Her eyes fixed on the dojo, she made her way to the door, and was just wondering if she should knock first when the door slid open and there stood Master Splinter.

"April," Splinter said, looking a little surprised to see her, as she had not been around in some time now, due to the unexpected accident with her father's mutation.

"Uh, hi, Master Splinter," April greeted, glancing behind him, wondering if the turtles were in the dojo with him. "I was just looking for the guys," she explained.

"April," Leo's voice came from behind Splinter, a moment later the emerald green turtle stood in the doorway as well. "We weren't expecting you," Leo said, glancing from her to Splinter.

"We will continue our meditation later," Splinter said, giving a small nod toward April, before leaving Leo there to talk with her.

"What's going on?" April asked, "did something happen?" she was unable to hide how worried she was.

"Yeah… something did happen," Leo said. "It's kind of a long story too…" Leo trailed off, looking at April as his frown deepened. "What are you doing here?" he questioned. "Last I knew, you never wanted to see any of us again." Leo didn't mean to sound as accusing as he had, but right then he would have liked to talk about anything else other than what was going on at the moment.

"I'm still mad," April said, crossing her arms. "And I'm going to continue being mad until this mistake is fixed," she admitted, then let out a long sigh and let her arms drop back to her sides. "But, mistakes happen, I know you guys were only trying to help, and I know that none of you would have purposely taken my dad away from me again." April closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before looking back up at Leo.

"I'm glad to hear that," Leo said, "Donnie will be happy to hear that as well."

April looked up at Leo, feeling as if there was more he wanted to say, but he seemed unsure of how to say it. "There is another reason for me coming down here," April admitted. "All last night I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, I spent all day trying to figure it out, when I realized that something might have happened to you guys," she said, and continued looking up at Leo.

The blue banded turtle could tell that she wanted him to say that everything was fine, or to confirm that no one had been hurt, in the last couple weeks that she hadn't been in their lives. But Leo wouldn't lie to her; however, he couldn't seem to find the right way to explain the current situation to her. It didn't seem right to dance around the topic before telling her, and blurting it out definitely wouldn't help matters.

"Leo, what happened?" April asked, her own worry growing the longer Leo remained silent.

"...It's… it's Mikey," Leo finally said, turning his head, breaking eye contact with her.

"Oh my God, is he okay?" April asked, eyes widening as she started to imagine all kinds of horrific things that could have happened to the youngest of her four friends.

"He's fine," Leo said quickly, then frowned. "Well, I mean he's not really fine, he was hurt, but the physical wounds aren't to bad, he's just really not himself," Leo tried to explain.

"...not himself?" April asked.

"It's kind of a sensitive topic right now," Leo said, closing his eyes.

"That is the understatement of the year." Raph's rough voice broke into their conversation, and April turned to look at him now.

"What Raph means is, we're all still trying to process what happened," Leo said.

"I ain't trying to process shit! I know what happened! And when I get my hands on that fucker, I'm gonna make him pay!" Raph snarled, taking April by surprise. She had seen Raph angry before, but this felt darker than his normal anger.

"No one is going to do anything," Leo ordered, ignoring the angry growl Raph directed at him. "It's like Splinter said, now is not the time to go and seek revenge. Mikey needs us right now and going after Slash isn't going to fix what happened," Leo said.

"He RAPED our brother!" Raph shouted, his anger rising quickly. "Mikey doesn't even want us near him! And I ain't gonna sit around and wait for something else ta happen!"

April stood off to the side, watching the two brothers as they argued. She didn't know how to react at the moment; she was still very confused but also horrified to hear that something like that had happened to Mikey. But it definitely explained the tense atmosphere in the Lair. The only thing that was really confusing her at the moment, she didn't know who this 'Slash' person was.

Donnie's lab door suddenly slammed open, stopping Raph and Leo's fighting instantly. The purple banded turtle didn't say anything to his two oldest brothers, but he didn't have to, Raph sent one more angry look toward Leo before stomping off toward his punching bag, and started taking out some of his frustrations on it.

"Sorry, Donnie," Leo said, looking at his second youngest brother.

"You two fighting isn't going to convince Mikey to come out of his room any sooner," Donnie said and Leo let out a small sigh.

"I know," was all Leo said, glancing at April, who had remained quiet this whole time. "Maybe today isn't the best for you to be down here to visit," Leo said, and it was only then that Donnie seemed to notice that they in fact had company.

"April?" Donnie stared wide eyed at the red head.

"Hey, Donnie," she gave him a small smile, and wasn't all that surprised when the tall turtle didn't return the gesture. "Look, Donnie, I know you guys have a lot to worry about at the moment," April started, but stopped when Donnie held up a hand silencing her.

"I'm really sorry, April, but could we talk about this another time? You're right that we have a lot to worry about at the moment, and… I can't deal with this right now," he said, and April could see, as well as feel, how hard it was for Donnie to say this to her.

"I just wanted to apologise, to all of you. And… if you want any help with Mikey…" she trailed off, leaving the offer hanging out there, looking from Donnie to Leo, and then over to Raph, who had stopped punching his bag long enough to glance in her direction.

"I don't really know if you could be of any help," Donnie admitted. "Mikey's locked himself in his room right now, and the only one he's let in there at the moment is Master Splinter," Donnie said.

"Raph said he was... that he was raped?" April asked, noticing how Leo's shoulders stiffened, and Donnie averted his eyes before nodding slowly. "Could I try and talk to him?" she requested, startling the three brothers.

"No offence, April, but he won't even talk to us, what makes you think you'll have better luck?" Leo asked.

"Because I'm not avoiding it for starters," April pointed out. "Look, just let me try, please?" April asked, feeling like she had to do something to help Mikey.

Leo looked to Donnie, as the purple banded turtle had been the appointed 'doctor' of the family for some time; if Donnie said it wouldn't be a good idea, then Leo would take his advice but his younger brother looked just as lost as he felt. Letting out another sigh, Leo turned his attention back to April. "Alright," Leo agreed, and led April down the hall to Mikey's room.

April looked at the closed door; she could already feel the raw emotions coming from the turtle on the other side. Raising her hand she knocked softly on the door, waiting for an answer that never came. "Mikey?" she called through the door, wondering if he might be asleep. But she heard movement behind the door, and knew that he must be awake.

She glanced over her shoulder at Leo, who was standing against the opposite wall, watching her. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at the door and knocked again. "Mikey, can I please come in?"

"Door's open," came the soft reply from Mikey. Opening the door slowly, April stepped inside, getting one more look at Leo before she closed the door behind her.

Mikey's room was completely dark, something that was very out of place for the youngest turtle. "Mikey, can I turn on the light?" April asked.

"... I guess…" Mikey said, and April felt along the wall until she found the light switch. She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Mikey's bed first, but he wasn't there.

"Mikey?" April frowned, looking around the room, ignoring the mess on the floor as she took a few steps further into the room.

"What do you want?" MIkey asked, and April turned in the direction of his voice, finding him sitting on the floor under his desk, a blanket hanging down protecting his small hiding space.

"I came in to talk to you, your brothers told me what happened," April said, kneeling on the floor. Mikey watched her, but didn't come out from his spot from under the desk.

"What did they say?" Mikey asked, watching every move that April made.

"They said that you were hurt, and you locked yourself in your room," April said.

"... I never locked the door," Mikey admitted after a moment of hesitation. "They just don't want to see me…"

"Mikey, that's not true." April shifted so that she was sitting more comfortable. "They are just scared and confused about what happened."

"Raph said I deserved it…" Mikey said in the same soft, broken voice that he had been speaking in. April hated seeing him like this; it was so clear to her that the normally vibrant, and easily excited turtle had been hurt deeply, and while she didn't really know what she could do or say to make Mikey better, she knew that leaving him like this was not going to help at all.

"I'm sure Raph didn't mean it," April said. "No one deserves what happened to you," April said firmly, giving Mikey a small smile when blue eyes locked with hers again. They sat there in silence, April watching Mikey as he thought over what she had said. She could still feel the confusion, fear, and pain coming from her small friend, but she waited for him to speak.

"I just… I don't understand," Mikey said, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"What don't you understand?" April asked.

"...all of it," Mikey said softly, his voice cracking as he attempted to hold back a fresh wave of tears. April bit her lip, trying to think of what she could say that would actually be of some help to Mikey.

"Maybe if you start at the beginning, I can help you understand?" April suggested. "You don't have to though, if you're not comfortable talking about it. But I will listen, if you do want to talk about anything," April said, reaching out and placed her hand on Mikey's. She felt him tense, and pull away slightly, but stopped his eyes focused on her smaller hand over his. Taking in the warm comforting feeling, before he turned his own hand over to hold hers.

Mikey remained quiet, never looking away from where his and April's hands were joined. They remained like that for nearly five minutes as Mikey had an internal war with himself about what he should talk about, how he should start, things were confusing enough in his own head, that he wasn't sure if he could even put his thoughts into a coherent sentence. But he wanted to understand, and most of all he wanted to know why, why had he deserved such a thing.

"Mikey, you didn't deserve it," April's voice broke into his thoughts, and Mikey looked up at her in confusion, not sure if he had voiced his question out loud, or if April was just really good at guessing what was going through his mind.

"...it hurt," Mikey said. "Like, more than Raph beating me up...more than being in Donnie's lab when it explodes… more than morning training with Leo…" Mikey said, trying to find a good comparison, but couldn't seem to think of what else he could compare it to.

April still nodded her head in understanding, and Mikey felt like she really did understand what he was saying, and she still sat there, still let him hold her hand. "...he said I deserved it," Mikey said.

"You didn't, what Raph said was-"

"Not Raph," Mikey interrupted. "Slash… when he… he had me tied down…" Mikey said, looking at his bandaged wrists, were he knew the marks from the chain was. "He said I deserved worse," Mikey closed his eyes tightly, removing his hand from April's and pulling himself further under his desk.

"Mikey," April began, but didn't know how to continue.

"...said I was useless…" Mikey said.

"You're not Mikey, no one thinks you're useless," April said, trying to reassure him.

"My brothers do," Mikey wrapped his arms around his knees, hugging them tighter. "I screamed for them… I thought it was a nightmare, and… and they always wake me up from them…" Mikey's voice sounded strained as he talked, and April felt her heart breaking even more for the orange banded turtle.

"Mikey," she kept her tone as comforting as she could, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, it's going to be okay," April soothed, shifting a little closer, but Mikey pull himself fully into his shell. April refrained from sighing, moving her hand to rest on Mikey's shell instead. "Mikey, please listen to me, you did not deserve it," she said again, already knowing that she was going to be repeating those words an awful lot in the near future. But she wouldn't get tired of saying them, as long as Mikey believed what she said.

"...I want to be alone…" Mikey said, and April couldn't help but feel like that was the last thing that Mikey wanted at the moment, but it wasn't her that he wanted, it wasn't her that he needed reassurance from. It was the three turtles that had left him alone in his room.

"Alright Mikey," April said. "I will be here, if you need to talk, and you have my number, even if it's three in the morning, I will listen," April promised, pushing herself up from the floor and slowly leaving Mikey's room. She paused in the doorway, glancing back toward Mikey's desk just in time to see a hand grab the sheet and close it around the opening again.

-x

Raph growled as he focused on his punching bag, swinging one punch after another, turning out everything happening around the Lair. Anger like he had never felt before was burning just below his skin, he knew that both Leo and Donnie felt guilty for what had happened to Mikey, and maybe it was fair that all of them took some of the blame. However Raph knew where to put the majority of the blame, without even knowing what Mikey was going to say, Raph had told his youngest brother that he deserved what Slash had done. And worse yet, he had practically given Slash permission to go after Mikey.

" _I'm sure you can think of a few good ways of getting back at him later,"_ that is what Raph had said to his once pet turtle. Raph knew he could argue with himself, that there could have been no way of knowing that Slash could even be capable of something so horrid. But then that little voice in his head, that sounded suspiciously like Leo, reminded him that all the signs were there, that Slash had been mutated, that the mutagen had a way of affecting the mind, they had seen it time and time again.

Letting out a rawr Raph punched his bag hard, pulling back for another punch, only to have his hand grabbed by Leo who was suddenly standing next to him.

"What do you want?" Raph snapped, pulling his hand away from Leo. The blue banded turtle said nothing, but looked toward the door, Raph glanced in the same direction and saw April standing there. "What, he afraid of you too?" Raph asked, and April looked at him shaking her head.

"No, we actually did talk a little bit," April said.

"You made more progress than we did, April," Donnie said, looking over from where he was sitting on the couch.

"Have you guys even tried talking to him?" April asked, trying not to sound accusing, but wanting them to see that avoiding Mikey right now was going to do more harm than good.

"Course we talked ta him!" Raph snapped.

"No Raph, I mean really talked," April fixed a glare on Raph. "Has he told you exactly what happened? Have you told him that it's not his fault? That he doesn't deserve what happened?" April asked, looking from Raph, to Leo and finally Donnie.

"I told you before April," Leo said, gaining her attention, "things are complicated."

"Things can't be that complicated that you can't be there for Mikey," April said. "He's hurt, and confused, and all I'm seeing right now is you three avoiding him," April sighed. "What is so complicated about just going and talking to him?" she asked.

"Because we don't know how to approach him right now," Donnie admitted sadly.

"He's your brother," April said.

"And we want to help him," Leo said. "But Mikey… he's always been more...more innocent than us," Leo tried to explain, looking to Donnie for help explaining this one.

"April," Donnie spoke again, running a hand over his head. "We've lived down here for fifteen years, and have only had contact with the world topside very recently, there are a lot of things that happen up there that… well we've never had a need for that kind of… personal information," Donnie explained.

April frowned, trying to understand what Donnie was saying. "I don't-"

"He means sex," Raph interrupted, blunt and to the point as usual.

"Yes, thank you Raph," Donnie huffed, sending a glare to his red banded brother, before looking back at April. "We have all discovered things on our own, as I suppose a normal human would," Donnie said, still trying to explain, without going into too much unnecessary detail.

"But not Mikey," April said, seeming to understand now what Donnie was trying to say, and she wished she didn't, because that just made the whole situation so much worse. Being attacked, being violated in such a way was bad enough when you knew what was happening, but April couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to go through something like that, and not actually understand. And now, her conversation with Mikey also made a lot more sense too, April felt physically sick as she continued looking at Donnie.

"So you see, April, it's not as simple as just going and talking to Mikey," Donnie said. "It's talking to him, and trying to help him understand what happened, and trying to help him heal from it as well."

"That makes sense, it really does Donnie, but while you three are trying to figure it out, Mikey is trying to figure things out on his own, and the longer you three take to go and talk to him, the more convinced he's going to be that it was his fault, that he deserved this," April said.

"He didn't deserve it," Leo said.

"That doesn't stop him from thinking that, because it's what his attacker told him," April said, and while she felt guilty for saying it the way she had, especially when she noticed the color drain from Raph's face. It was something that the three brothers had to hear, considering that Raph had said almost the same thing to Mikey. She hoped with this bit of information, that they would stop sitting around, waiting for the problem to fix itself.

"Raph," Leo said, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder, only to have his hot headed brother shove the hand away.

"Don't say anything," Raph snapped, and before anyone else could stop him, or say anything else to him, he stormed out of the room, going down the hall to his bedroom. Slamming the door behind him Raph took a deep breath, however his focus landed on the end table where he had kept Spike's aquarium set up. And he couldn't holding his anger back any more, letting out a rawr of pure uncontrolled anger, Raph kicked the table over, watching in satisfaction as the tank smashed to the floor.

Sinking to the floor and staring at the he remains of the tank, Raph silently mourned the loss of his pet and best friend. A soft knock on his door had Raph turning around to glare at it, silently wondering which one of his brothers was brave enough, or stupid enough to disturb him at the moment.

"What?" He snapped. When there was no answer and Raph got to his feet, going over to the door he pulled it open ready cuss out whoever it was standing on the other side of the door, only to freeze when he saw his frightened baby brother standing there.

Baby blue eyes widened when the door was suddenly pulled open, and Raph could only guess that Mikey hadn't expected the door to be open at all. And now they were both stuck standing here, waiting for the other to speak, or maybe Mikey was waiting for Raph to slam the door in his face.

The thought was tempting, Raph really didn't want to deal with any of his brothers right now, but the frightened look Mikey was giving him is what made Raph hesitate, knowing that if he shut his brother out now, he may never be able to fix his mistakes.

"Mikey…" Raph said, breaking the silence between them.

"I'm sorry," Mikey said quickly, backing away from Raph. "I just… I heard a noise and I thought…" Mikey gave a nervous glance in the direction of Slash's door, and Raph looked in the same direction for a moment, before looking back at Mikey.

"Slash is gone," Raph said, hoping to reassure his youngest brother that is attacker wouldn't hurt him again.

"But… but Spike-"

"He's not Spike!" Raph snapped, and Mikey flinched backing away further, and looked like he was seriously regretting even leaving his room. "No… Mikey, I…" Raph sighed, closing his eyes tightly as he took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger like Splinter had been teaching him for years. "Mikey, Spike is gone, Slash, he's just a monster," Raph said, opening his eyes to look at Mikey.

"But he-"

"He hurt you," Raph interrupted again. "He hurt you bad, and that never should've happened," Raph took half a step toward Mikey, wondering if he would end up scaring Mikey off again.

"...I deserved it…" Mikey said, keeping his wide eyes locked on Raph.

"No, ya didn't deserve what he did to you," Raph said firmly, "I know what I said before, but that… I didn't mean it, I didn't know what had happened and…" Raph said, struggling with the words he wanted to say, knowing what he had to say, but apologising had never been his thing. However at the same time, Raph didn't want Mikey to be afraid of him any more, he was supposed to protect his brothers, and he had already failed the smallest of them.

Mikey didn't say anything, just continued to look at Raph, and the red banded turtle knew that Mikey needed more than a few simple words. His brother was still scared, and rightly so, taking a deep breath, Raph forced himself to say what needed to be said, wanting to reassure his brother that even though he had failed him once, he wasn't going to fail him again.

"Mikey," Raph began, and Mikey blinked slowly at him, Raph took a step forward, but stopped when he saw the smaller turtle tense, though Mikey didn't back away again, so Raph counted that as a little progress at least. "I can't say anythin' that could make any of this better," Raph said, keeping his eyes locked with Mikey's. "I can't say 'I'm sorry' because that doesn't seem like enough," Raph said, pausing again, and Mikey didn't say anything, just let Raph talk. "But I promise, I'm going to find Slash, and I'm gonna make him pay for what he did," Raph growled.

Mikey still didn't say anything, though Raph saw the tears falling freely down Mikey's cheeks now, and wondered if he had just made things worse, he had meant to reassure his brother, not make him cry again. Mikey gave no indication as to what was going on in his mind, but Raph suddenly found his arms full as Mikey dove at him and latched on.

Raph stood there stunned, staring down at his sobbing brother, slowly he let own arms wrap tightly around Mikey, giving him plenty of time to back away if he needed. However Mikey just buried his face further into Raph's plastron, sobs shaking his entire body as Raph held him close.

Not wanting to stand in the hallway, just in case Donnie or Leo came to see what was going on, Raph maneuvered the two of them backward, into his room and Raph closed the door. Mikey let himself be led into the room, refusing to let Raph go as the red banded turtle sat them both on the bed, Mikey curled up on Raph's lap.

"I got you," Raph whispered, and allowed Mikey to cry out his fear and pain.

TBC  
I was crying so much while I was writing this chapter. This chapter wound up being more Raph centric than Mikey, but I think that's okay. We got a good look at Raph's inner turmoil. Mikey still had a long hard road ahead of him, but at least Raph can be there for him now!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Numb, that was the only word that MIkey could use to describe how he was feeling at the moment. Even as he sat curled up against Raph's plastron, the strong arms of his brother wrapped tightly around him. Mikey had finished crying, and now the only thing left behind was a numb, confused shell of a turtle.

"Mikey?"

Mikey lifted his head slightly to look up at Raph, the look of concern his brother was giving him, wasn't one that Mikey saw on his hot-headed brother's face very often. And this particular look was usually directed toward Leo when their oldest brother had done, or was planning on doing, something incredibly stupid. Unable to bare seeing that look any longer, Mikey turned away, shifting to pull himself off of Raph's lap where he had still been seated.

"'m sorry," Mikey mumbled.

"What are ya apologizing for, knucklehead?" Raph asked.

Mikey shrugged, looking anywhere in the room but at Raph. "I dunno, for making you uncomfortable?" Mikey hadn't meant for it to sound like a question, but even as he had been saying it he knew what sort of reply he would get.

"Since when has me being uncomfortable been cause for you to apologize?" Raph raised an eye ridge at him, sighing when Mikey just shrugged his shoulders again. "Ya ain't got nothing to be sorry for, Mikey," Raph said firmly.

Mikey looked away from him, wiping his eyes to stop the fresh flow of tears; he had already done enough crying in front of Raph today, and really didn't want to prove himself to be more useless and pathetic than he already was.

"Mikey," Raph began, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a knock on the door. Raph let out a frustrated sigh. "What do you want?" Raph snapped, seeming to already have an idea of who was on the other side of the door.

"Raph, it's me," Donnie's voice came through the door. Mikey stared at the door with wide eyes, unable to stop the small spike of fear at hearing his brainiac brother.

"What do you want?" Raph repeated.

"I'm looking for Mikey, have you seen him?" Donnie asked. Raph looked toward Mikey, who shook his head quickly.

"What do you need him for?" Raph asked, avoiding the question.

"I need to see if he's okay, physically that is… Slash could have caused some damage when he…" Donnie trailed off and a small sigh was heard through the door. "I just need to give him a check up, and possibly some pain killers."

Raph looked from the door to Mikey. He knew that it was probably a good idea for Don to check Mikey's injury, but Raph wasn't about to force Mikey to go through with the check up, when he clearly didn't want to.

"Can't that wait?" Raph questioned, looking back toward the door. There was a long silent pause, but Raph knew Donnie was still on the other side of the door.

"He's in there with you." It was more of a statement than a question. The door started opening before Raph could even reply. Mikey backed further away from the door as it opened all the way and Donnie came in. Raph moved at the same time Mikey did, stepping in front of his youngest brother. This surprised Mikey, about as much as it seemed to surprise Donnie.

"He doesn't want ta have a check up," Raph said.

Donnie sighed. "I didn't think he would, but it has to be done," Donnie said, and Mikey looked out from behind Raph.

"I feel fine," Mikey lied; his backside was still sore, and if he moved the wrong way, or moved too quickly, he was quickly reminded how much of a bad idea that was.

"You might feel fine, Mikey, but that doesn't mean you are," Donnie said, shifting around so that he could see Mikey better.

Mikey didn't say anything, just ducked further behind Raph, pressing closer to the red banded turtle.

"Look, Don, I know you're trying ta help him, but do you have to do it RIGHT now?" Raph asked.

Donnie let out another sigh, covering his eyes with his hand for a moment, and Mikey knew that his purple banded brother was thinking of a way to convince him to go through with the check up. "I've already waited as long as I can," Donnie said. "Mikey, master Splinter already told me he talked to you about this," Donnie said.

Mikey looked away, his eyes focused on the floor as he nodded slowly. "He… he did," Mikey admitted softly.

"He also told me…" Donnie paused, and Mikey lifted his gaze to look at him. "He told us that you didn't understand what happened," Donnie said.

"I was attacked..." Mikey said.

"Yes, but do you understand what kind of attack it was?" Donnie asked, though didn't need the answer as he saw the confusion on Mikey's face.

"Donnie," Raph snapped. Donnie shook his head.

"No, Raph, he needs to know. The only way he can truly start healing, is by understanding," Donnie said, looking back at Mikey.

"And I suppose you're gonna be the one ta explain things ta him?" Raph let out a small angry growl, but it was cut off my the frightened noise Mikey made. The smaller turtle backing away from him.

"Come on, Mikey," Donnie said, holding his hand out for Mikey to take.

"Can't I just go back to my room?" Mikey pleaded.

"You can after, I promise," Donnie said softly. Mikey inched forward, but still made no move to take Donnie's hand. "Would you feel better if Raph came too?" Donnie asked, Mikey seemed to debate the question for a few seconds before nodding, glancing back at Raph, silently pleaded for him to come too.

"I'm right behind ya," Raph said, and Mikey gave him a shaky smile before looking back at Donnie, waiting for his tallest brother to lead the way.

Mikey remained close to Raph as they made their way out into the main part of the lair, and it was only Raph's protective presence that kept Mikey from bolting back to his room. Leo and April were still there, both of them seated on the couch as Donnie led Mikey through the room and into the lab. Mikey could feel their eyes on him, though he avoided looking at either of them as he followed Donnie, sighing when Raph closed the door behind them.

"Okay, Mikey, just have a seat on the table…" Donnie trailed off as he looked back at Mikey, noticing his little brother staring at the examination table as if it were going to bite him. "Or you can have a seat in the chair," Donnie said. Mikey made no move to sit down at all, rubbing at his still sore wrists.

"Mikey?" Donnie frowned, stepping in Mikey's line of site. Baby blue eyes blinked at him, before Mikey nodded, glancing at Raph, as if to make sure that his hot headed brother was still there with him, Mikey moved over to one of the chairs and gingerly sat down. His slow careful movements didn't go unnoticed by either of his brothers, but they thankfully didn't comment on it, Donnie just nodded, grabbing his own chair and wheeling it over so that he could sit down in front of Mikey.

Mikey sat there fidgeting, his legs pressed tightly together, and he avoided looking directly at Donnie's face, though at the same time his eyes never left the olive green turtle.

"Mikey, I'm going to ask you a few questions first, okay?" Donnie asked, and Mikey nodded. "They're not all going to be yes or no questions, but I need you to answer me as best you can."

Again Mikey nodded, his hands balled into fists as he rubbed them against his legs as he slowly rocked back and forth, waiting and dreading for Donnie's questions to start. He didn't want to be here, even with Raph standing off to the side, and knowing that neither of his brothers were going to hurt him, he still couldn't help but feel anxious and trapped sitting here.

"Okay, first question is how much do you know about your body?" Donnie asked.

"I… I don't understand," Mikey said, glancing briefly up at Donnie, then fixing his gaze back on his taller brother's knees.

"About puberty," Donnie said, and Mikey just chewed on his lower lip, trying to think on how to answer that question. He vaguely knew what puberty was, but no one had ever gone into full detail with him about it. Mikey heard Donnie let out a small sigh, and shrank back in his chair a little. It was obvious that this was a question he should know the answer to, and he wracked his brain, trying to think of any information he could that would help him answer his brother.

"I'm sorry…" Mikey finally said. "I… I think I know… but I…"

"No, Mikey, it's okay, you don't have to be sorry," Donnie interrupted quickly. "It just means this is going to be a slightly longer talk." Donnie reached out to place a hand on Mikey's but stopped when the smaller turtle jerked his hands away. Donnie refrained from sighing again and pulled his hand back.

"I'm going to explain this as best I can, if you don't understand I'll try and simplify it more, and if I can't, then Raph will be his normal crude self and say it bluntly," Donnie said, looking to his hot headed brother, who nodded once.

Mikey glanced up at the two of them, wishing even more that he had been able to go back to his room and lock the door.

-x

An hour later had Mikey still sitting in the chair, though he now had his knees pulled up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around them as his mid processed all the new information he had been given. As it turned out, he had known quite a bit of what Donnie had said, which was to be expected since he was a healthy fifteen year old boy, same as his brothers. What Mikey hadn't know was that it was normal for his body to act the way it was.

What had really gotten to the smaller turtle however, was the talk about actual sex, and the difference between consensual, and rape. Just the thought of it made him feel dirty all over again, and Mikey wished he could retreat to the shower and scrub himself clean once again. However he remained silent, listening to Donnie as he continued to explain as best he could. And while Mikey now knew exactly what Slash had done, it did nothing to make him feel any better.

"Mikey, do you understand what I've told you?" Donnie asked. Mikey just nodded his head slowly, knowing his brother was looking for a verbal response, that Mikey was unwilling to give.

"Okay," Donnie said, letting out a small sigh. Mikey bit his lip, knowing that he was beginning to annoy his brother, but he couldn't really bring himself to care at the moment. "Do you want to take a short break? Or would you rather get the examination over with now, so you can go back to your room?" Donnie asked.

Mikey blinked at him, actually putting thought into that question. He wished he could just skip everything and go to his room now, but that wasn't going to be an option, because it had been explained to him twice already that this examination was necessary, while STDs weren't something to really worry about, there was still the possibility of infection, and as much as he didn't want to be touched by anyone, especially not where Donnie was going to touch him, the last thing Mikey wanted was an infection.

"Can we just get it over with?" Mikey asked in a small voice, and Donnie gave him a sympathetic look, nodding his head.

"Of course," Donnie stood up. Mikey watched his brother as he moved over to where he kept his medical supplies. "You're going to have to sit on the table now, Mikey," Donnie said, his back still toward Mikey as he looked for what he was going to need.

Mikey's gaze drifted toward the metal table that Donnie had managed to finally get; with how often they went topside now, and the amount of fights they were in, Donnie had insisted that he needed a proper medical table. And while this table was nothing like what you would see on any hospital show, it had still served it's purpose, and made it easier for Donnie when patching them all up.

Mikey hadn't particularly liked the couple times he had landed himself on that table already, because it usually meant that needles were involved somehow, either with stitching up a deep cut, or drawing blood. Both of which Mikey disliked. But now he was hesitating for a completely different reason.

"Mikey? Ya okay?" Raph asked. Mikey jerked his attention away from the table to stare at his hot-headed brother.

"I… I don't want to get on the table," Mikey said softly, and could feel his eyes burning as he tried to hold back his tears. He felt as if he had cried enough that day, but the overwhelming emotions were making it difficult.

"Mikey?" Donnie asked, coming over to his brother, looking worriedly at him.

Mikey looked at his genius brother again, the one person who had been his best friend since they were little, and the one that had always put in the most effort to understand him. "Please, Donnie… I… I can't," Mikey said.

"Mikey… I have to do the examination… you know I do," Donnie said sadly.

"I-I know, but…" Mikey glanced over at the table again, wrapping his arms around himself. "Please… anywhere else… I'll do it… but not… I can't, not on the table…" Mikey said, turning pleading baby blue eyes toward his tallest brother.

"Mikey…" Donnie sighed, and Mikey could practically see his brother trying to come up with some way to get him to sit on the table.

"... he chained me down…" Mikey said, lowering gaze to the floor as he lost the fight with his tears. "…I was chained down to a table while he… he…" Mikey flinched, closing his eyes tightly when he felt Donnie place what was meant to be a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know where else to do this, Mikey," Donnie said. "All my equipment is in here… though what I need can be easily moved, I would need some place that has decent lighting."

"What about the dojo?" Raph said, his voice rough with his own emotions as he watched his baby brother start falling apart again.

"We'll have to ask Master Splinter," Donnie said.

"Then let's ask him," Raph said, reaching out and gently taking Mikey's hand he started pulling the quietly crying turtle after him, leaving Donnie no choice but to follow.

Mikey wasn't to happy at being dragged across the lair from one room to another, all the moving around was more than just a little painful for him, and when they reached the dojo, the first thing Mikey did was sit down, curling up on the floor as he waited for Donnie to join them while Raph explained the situation to Splinter.

Mikey tuned out their conversation, closing his eyes tightly and breathing deeply, trying to ignore the pain in his backside.

"Mikey?" Leo's voice so close to him had Mikey's eyes snapping open to find his oldest brother kneeling on the floor in front of him, far too close for Mikey's comfort, and Mikey was unable to stop himself from flinching away.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" Leo asked, and Mikey just blinked at him, not sure how he should answer that question, so he settled on the default answer that everyone seemed to go to.

"I'm fine," Mikey said, shifting further away from Leo, who frowned at the action but thankfully made no comment on it.

"Donnie's just about ready, he asked me to wake you up," Leo said.

"... wasn't sleeping," Mikey admitted, pushing himself up slowly until he was in an almost upright position.

"Let me help you," Leo said, moving forward to do just that.

"Don't touch me!" Mikey yelped, pulling away from Leo almost violently, and then felt guilty as he saw the sad and worried look Leo was giving him. "I… I can get up on my own… This is hard enough and I- I just don't want to be touched…" Mikey admitted, and even though Leo nodded his head seeming to understand, Mikey was sure that his older brother really didn't understand anything at all. However, Mikey wasn't really in the mood to try and explain his current feelings anyone.

Gritting his teeth, and doing his best to ignore oldest brother hovering nearby, Mikey pushed himself to his feet, going over to where Donnie had set things up over next to the tree.

"Come sit here, Mikey," Donnie said indicating a mat that was laid out on the floor. Under the watchful gaze of all his brothers and Splinter now, Mikey lowered himself back to the floor, biting his lip as he felt a sharp pain from the movement.

"My sons," Splinter spoke, and Mikey blinked up at the tall rat, seeing that he was addressing the oldest two turtles Mikey sighed and closed his eyes again. "I believe that Michelangelo does not need a small audience for such a thing."

Mikey watched as Splinter ordered Leo and Raph from the room, though the red banded turtle hesitated, looking at Mikey as if asking him if it was alright for him to leave. Mikey hesitated as well in answering, unsure if he wanted Raph with him through this or not, but eventually decided against it; his strong brother had seen him in tears enough for one day.

"I'll be okay, Raph," Mikey said, though Raph didn't move right away, clearly deciding of Mikey was lying to him or not. Though in the end he left too, leaving Mikey alone with Donnie.

"Can… can we get this over with?" Mikey asked, turning his attention away from the door to look at Donnie, who was looking almost as nervous as Mikey felt at the moment.

"Of course," Donnie said, "I need you to lay on your plastron, it will be easier to how much damage was done that way," Donnie said, and Mikey swallowed before doing as he was told, his hands clenched into fists.

Donnie was really careful with him, always telling him before he touched him, or moved his hand, and while that made things a little easier for Mikey through the examination, it hadn't kept him from crying out when Donnie touched a particularly painful spot, or when he had put some cream on his injuries to ensure a faster healing time.

Donnie had apologized each time Mikey made any noise, until finally he pulled back, moving so that Mikey could see him again. "We're all done, Mikey," Donnie said, and Mikey nodded slowly as he sat back up.

"...can I go back to my room now?" Mikey asked, not meeting his taller brothers worried gaze.

"It might be best if you just sat here for a few moments, the creme I put on your injury should help with the pain, but I don't want you moving around too much," Donnie said.

Mikey glanced up at Donnie before nodding his head again and resumed starting at the floor. Donnie made no move to leave the dojo, and after another few moments of sitting in silence, Mikey looked up at his brainiac brother again, recognising the thoughtful expression on his brother's face. Mikey knew that Donnie had lost himself in his own thoughts; and Mikey didn't need to be a genius to guess what was currently going through Donnie's mind.

"So… how bad was it?" Mikey asked, catching his brother off guard as Donnie's thoughts snapped back to where he was at the moment.

"What?" Donnie blinked, looking at Mikey.

"My… ya know," Mikey gestured behind him. "Was it bad?" Mikey asked.

"I… well, it's not good, and I don't really have anything to compare it to as this isn't something we've ever had to deal with…" Donnie sighed. "But there are no signs of infection, and while you might be in pain for a few days, your physical injury should heal just fine, your tail might be sore for a bit longer as there was some bad bruising on it…" Donnie said.

Mikey nodded his head in understanding, returning his attention to the carpet he was seated on, his fingers finding some loose threads and he started picking at them. "...do you think I'm useless?" Mikey asked.

"No Mikey, I don't think you're useless," Donnie said easily, and Mikey looked up at him, clearly not believing him.

"Really?" he asked, "'cause from where I'm sitting, I'm pretty useless… I mess everything up constantly to the point where you guys are actually surprised if I manage to do something right…" Mikey said, pulling the string loose from the carpet.

"Mikey, you're not useless," Donnie said again, a little more firmly this time. "We may take our teasing a bit far at times, and it's true that while you are not as good at some things as we are, you have your own special talents," Donnie said.

"Yeah, like being bait… like attracting all the trouble, like being so shit at paying attention to anything that I get caught and… and…" Mikey shook his head, burying his face in his hands. "Why did this happen to me if I'm not useless?" Mikey practically shouted, taking Donnie by surprise.

"I… I don't know, Mikey," was all Donnie could say. Mikey curled up tighter on himself; he knew that no one could answer that question, and it may have been unfair to even ask it, but Mikey felt like he was losing himself in the overwhelming feelings running through him. Confusion, anger, and fear. Being confused was something Mikey could usually deal with, but he had never been this afraid before, because he had always known that his brothers would be there to protect him, even through the worst nightmares.

Except this time, they hadn't been there, no one had. ' _Useless',_ the word echoed painfully through Mikey's mind, and he barely registered his brothers arms wrapping around him, or the calming words Donnie was whispering to him, trying to comfort him. "... don't want to be useless…" Mikey said softly, curling up against Donnie, who held him a little tighter.

"You're not useless, Mikey, you're not," Donnie said, rubbing his hand over Mikey's carapace, slowly soothing his baby brother, and within moments, the stress of the day seemed to have finally caught up to Mikey, who fell asleep against him. Donnie was reluctant to move, or even call for someone to help him move Mikey back to his room, so Donnie remained sitting there, comforting his brother, hoping to ward off any nightmares that might plague his baby brother's sleep.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Splinter knew that he had done his best to protect his sons, knew that there were many evils in this world that he had shielded his small family against. However, he also knew that he could not shield them forever, eventually they were going to know things, they were going to discover things on their own. As his sons grew, and slowly started to learn how cruel the world could truly be, there were still things that he never truly worried about happening. Even if they had to one day deal with the victim of such a vile crime, dealing with the aftermath of such a thing was not something even Splinter could have prepared them for.

Michelangelo; there were many words that Splinter could use to describe his youngest son, skittish and fearful had never been among those words, until now. The young teenager who had loved being the center of attention, who always was latching onto one of his brothers, seeming to thrive from physical contact, now shied away from nearly every touch. While Mikey still seemed to enjoy receiving hugs, he no longer went seeking hugs from his brothers, leaving it up to Leonardo, Raphael, or Donatello to decide if they were going to hug their brother or not.

More often than not over the past month Splinter had caught his youngest deep in thought, a confused expression on his face as he tried to puzzle over things in his mind. Splinter, of course, had done what he could to help his son; today would be no different. Splinter had woken in the early hours of the morning, before even Leonardo was usually awake, and had immediately known that something was wrong.

He had not had to search very far to discover what had woken him. Michelangelo was seated on the couch in the main part of the Lair. The small turtle had curled in on himself, hugging his knees tightly to his plastron as he slowly rocked back and forth, silently crying to himself. The sight of his youngest like this broke Splinter's heart.

"Michelangelo," Splinter spoke softly, not wanting to startle his son. Even though this had not been his intention, Mikey's head still snapped up, turning wide, fearful eyes toward Splinter. And it hurt Splinter even more to see such fear on his son's face, even if it wasn't truly directed toward him.

"S-sensei," Mikey spoke, his voice cracking, indicating that he had been out here for some time crying. He looked away to wipe at his tears, before returning his attention to Splinter. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up… I… I was trying to be quiet…"

"Do not apologize, Michelangelo, I am glad you have woken me," Splinter said, nodding toward the empty seat next to Mikey. "May I sit with you?" Splinter asked, his question surprising the young turtle, but Mikey nodded.

"Of course, Sensei," Mikey said, slowly uncurling himself so that Splinter could have more room to sit. Even then, Mikey kept his baby blue eyes fixed on Splinter as the tall rat moved around the couch, and took a seat next to his son, being careful to sit close enough that he could comfort him, but not to close as to make the skittish turtle uncomfortable.

"Now, do you wish to tell me why you are up at such an early hour?" Splinter asked, his gaze fixed on Mikey.

"I… it's nothing, sensei," Mikey said, his attention fixed on the floor.

"Ah yes, I too have spent many nights sitting in the dark over 'nothing'," Splinter said, nodding his understanding. "Sometimes 'nothing' can be too painful to put into actual words." Reaching out slowly, making sure that Mikey had seen the movement of his hand first, Splinter reached up and placed his hand on top of his son's head. "Please know this, my son, I am always here for you," Splinter said, the same thing he had been saying to Mikey over the past few weeks.

"I had a nightmare about… about…" Mikey swallowed hard, his eyes burning as he struggled to hold back the fresh flow of tears. "About HIM," Mikey said, "a-ab-about Sl-" Mikey trembled, closing his eyes tightly.

"Slash can not hurt you here," Splinter said firmly. Everyone had avoided saying the name of Mikey's attacker, fearing that mentioning his name would cause the smallest turtle more distress, bring back more memories of what had happened. However, the only thing that this had done was fuel Mikey's fear of the beast; if they were all afraid of saying Slash's name, it did nothing to help Mikey's recovery.

"I know…" Mikey said softly, rubbing at his eyes in another attempt to stop his tears. "I know he can't, I know Donnie installed more security around the lair, that if he DID come back… But I'm still scared. I-in my dream, he got into the Lair, the alarms never went off and… and no one could stop him… you all tried, but he-he killed everyone… then he…" Mikey wrapped his arms around himself again, baby blue eyes wide as he recalled the dream, or perhaps it was a memory he was seeing. "I can still feel him, not all the time but… I can feel him touching me… and… and I want it to stop, I want everything to just stop!" Mikey cried, losing the fight with his tears and letting them flow freely down his cheeks.

Splinter's chest tightened painfully at seeing his son like this, wrapping his arms around Mikey he pulled the sobbing turtle against him. He had half expected Mikey to pull away, to flinch at the touch, instead his youngest son clung to him, his face buried against the red fabric of Splinter's robe.

"You are still healing. While medicine can do wonders to heal the body, only time can heal the spirit," Splinter said and continued to hold his youngest son. This was not the first night he had found Mikey in such a state, and it wouldn't be the last. However, Splinter still counted it as progress, because it was the first night that Michelangelo had spoken of the nightmares that plagued his sleep.

-x

It was nearing eleven in the morning. Mikey had been dragged from his sleep nearly an hour previous, so that he could participate in training once again. It was not something the orange banded turtle was looking forward to, though at the same time it was nice to have something he could focus on, other than his own thoughts for once.

"Focus, Michelangelo," Splinter said, and Mikey shook his head as if that would clear the thoughts from his mind once more.

"Sorry, Sensei," Mikey said, focusing once again on Leo, who was his current opponent. Mikey thought it was almost unfair to be paired off with Leo, since the blue-banded turtle usually did extra training for fun, while Mikey hadn't even watched a training session in a month.

"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Leo asked, raising an eye ridge at the smaller turtle.

"Well, I thought I'd give you the opportunity to attack me first," Mikey said, watching Leo closely. He saw the slight tensing of Leo's muscles a second before he lunged. Mikey easily dodged out of the way, swinging his nunchuck out in an attempt to trip Leo, though it wasn't surprising at all when the blue- banded turtle easily dodged that, landing before making another attack at Mikey.

Back and forth they went, Mikey never really going in for the attack and quickly dodging anything Leo tried to do. As he dodged again, narrowly missing an the attack, Mikey thought he heard Leo let out a low growl, the noise had Mikey freezing for a split second, and that was all the time Leo needed to sweep Mikey's feet out from under him, sending the younger turtle falling to the floor. Leo was on him then, pinning him to the floor.

"Looks like I win, Mikey," Leo said. "Good job though, I thought you would have been more rusty than you are…" Leo trailed off, his small smile fading as he took in the panicked look on Mikey's face. Baby Bblue eyes were wide, Mikey's breathing was quick and shallow, and had nothing to do with the work out they had just finished.

"Mikey?" Leo's frown deepened.

"... let me go," Mikey whispered, pulling at his hands that Leo still had pinned. "Let me go!" Mikey said louder, even though Leo was already moving to get off his brother. As soon as he was free, Mikey scurried back across the floor, and away from Leo, his eyes darting around the room.

"Mikey?" Raph caught his attention, and Mikey's eyes darted up to look at his red- banded brother.

"I'm fine," Mikey said before Raph could even ask the question, standing up and sidestepping his brother., Mikey glanced around again, he felt like he was suffocating in this room, Leo was staring at him, as was Raph, and Mikey didn't have to look to know that he also had gained Donnie's and Splinter's attention as well. "I… I need a break," Mikey said., nNot waiting for a reply, he practically ran from the room. This wasn't the first time Mikey had done this, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last either.

Going to his bedroom, Mikey shut himself inside and leaned against the door,. Llistening closely to see if anyone had followed him this time., wWhen he didn't hear anything, he let out a long sigh and pushed off the door, walking over to his bed; he fell face first onto it as he thought about what had just occurred in the dojo.

He had been afraid, the feeling of being pinned down, unable to move, helpless and at the mercy of Leo., eEven though Mikey knew, and he could tell himself over and over again, that his oldest brother would never hurt him, it hadn't stopped that fear from taking over. And it hadn't just been with Leo either, Mikey had been shying away from everyone, avoiding most physical contact. The only ones that Mikey felt safe around where his father, and Raph.

A soft knock on the door drew Mikey's attention away from his thoughts, turning his head so that he could check and see if he had locked it. He hadn't, which meant if he chose to remain silent and pretend he couldn't hear anyone knocking, they would open the door to check on him anyway. "Go away," Mikey answered, turning his head away from the door again.

"Mikey, it's Leo," his oldest brother's voice came through the door, and Mikey didn't answer. He had suspected that the blue-banded turtle was the one outside the door, after Mikey's sudden freak out in the dojo, it only made sense that Leo would now come to talk to him about it.

"Leo, I want to be alone right now," Mikey said, and against Mikey's wishes, Leo opened the door so that he could look in at the youngest turtle. Mikey sat up quickly, turning to look at Leo.

"Mikey, I really think we need to talk," Leo insisted.

"Please, can't we talk later?" Mikey asked, gently rubbing his wrists. The bruises were long gone, and Donnie had made sure that none of the cuts left scars, but there were times that Mikey could still feel the soreness. " _It's all in your head,"_ was what Donnie had said to him. Though of course his brother had used larger words, and explained it in a way that hadn't made Mikey sound like he was losing his mind, it still boiled down to it being in Mikey's head.

"This can't wait," Leo insisted.

Slowly wrapping his arms around himself, Mikey took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming himself like Master Splinter had been instructing him, then nodded. "If this is about what happened in the dojo, I'm sorry," Mikey said, hoping that if he apologised now, he could get Leo to leave. Instead his brother closed the door behind him and Mikey had to push down on the rising panic he was feeling.

"That is part of it," Leo said, "but I've noticed other things over the last month too."

"L-like what?" Mikey asked, biting his lip.

"Like how you spend most of your time locked in your room; how you avoid being around us most of the time; if someone steps to close, you panic and back away from them," Leo explained. Mikey could only stare at him, he knew how he had been acting, but he hadn't realised that anyone else had been watching him closely enough to notice too.

"I…" Mikey began, but Leo cut him off before he could say anything.

"I think you're blowing this whole thing out of proportion," Leo said, and suddenly Mikey didn't know what to say, because it felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him. "I'm not saying what happened to you wasn't horrible, but it's been a month, it's over, it's done with, it's time to move on, Mikey."

"I… I don't…" Mikey wrapped his arms tighter around himself, his baby blue eyes fixed on Leo searching his brother's face to figure out if this was some kind of cruel joke, but the serious look Leo had said it all.

"You've had a month off of training, that is more than enough time to heal, so just let it go and stop letting what happened control you." Leo smiled, and somewhere in the back of his mind Mikey knew that his blue-banded brother thought he was helping, but the only thing that Mikey could focus on at the moment was the numb feeling that had taken over his body. He was only vaguely aware of Leo saying something about getting some rest, and that his brother was leaving the room.

Mikey remained sitting up on his bed, his nails digging into his arms as he rocked back and forth slowly. Leo's words echoed around in his mind and Mikey choked back a sob, trying to stop the tears that had started falling down his face. Mikey knew that Leo was right, his oldest brother, while not as smart as Donnie, was still very smart. A month was enough time to bounce back from any attack, they had all proven that time and time again; one perk of their mutation was their fast healing ability.

However, even though he told himself that Leo was right, all it did was make his chest feel heavy, as if the numbness that had taken over him before was solidifying and weighing him down. Mikey's first thought was to go find Raph, his hot headed brother would help make this feeling go away, but even as he moved from his bed to go search for Raph, another thought occurred to him. Telling Raph what Leo had said would surely lead to a fight between the two oldest, and going to Donnie was out of the question, because there was the possibility he would simply agree with Leo.

Mikey stood in the middle of his room, trying to decide what he should do next, it wasn't until his eyes landed on a new photo that was sitting on his desk that he realised what he needed to do. It was one that had been taken a few months ago, but April had just brought it over last time she visited a week ago. It was a simple picture of Mikey with his three brothers, though this picture now included April in it too. " _A reminder, I'm always here if you need me,"_ April had told him after handing over the photo that was safe inside a picture frame.

Mikey made up his mind then, he would have to wait until nightfall, but then he would be able to sneak out and go see April.

-x

When April had first volunteered to tutor someone, she never would have thought she would actually have fun with someone like Casey, but the loudmouth boy was turning out to be quite a good friend. And while April liked her four sewer dwelling friends, it was nice to have a human one as well.

Tonight their study session had lasted longer than usual because April had lost track of time, so she was now being escorted home by Casey.

"You really didn't have to come with me," April said as she walked up the steps to her front door.

"I know you could have handled anyone tryin' to give you trouble, but it just didn't feel right makin' you walk home alone," Casey said, and April smiled at him.

"Thank you," April said, turning to open her front door. She stood there staring into the darkness of her home. Something felt off.

"Everything okay, red?" Casey asked.

"I don't know…" she trailed off when she heard a noise, and her first thought was of the Kraang, and what if they had finally found where she lived. April tensed, reaching for her tessen, she pulled it out and moved further into the house. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Casey move behind her; he had pulled out his hockey stick, holding it like a weapon as he moved with her into the house.

Another noise caught her attention, and April looked toward the kitchen. She could see a light coming from the fridge. Frowning in puzzlement, she glanced around the room again, sure now that it wasn't the Kraang, as they wouldn't have invaded her house just to raid her fridge. Her eyes fell on an open window leading out onto the fire escape and it was now fairly easy to guess who her uninvited guest was.

Sapping her head back to look at Casey, she saw the black haired boy moving quickly toward the kitchen. "Casey, wait!" But it was too late, the teen boy had already burst into the kitchen, hockey stick swinging down intending to attack first, and ask questions after. The short startled cry was cut off as Casey's hockey stick met its mark.

"What the…?" Casey said, and April ran over, pushing passed him into the kitchen and staring down at the now unconscious turtle on the floor. "Mutant? Here?" Casey narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on his hockey stick and then April was suddenly in front of him.

"No, Casey! Put that stick down, and help me move him to the bedroom," April ordered.

"Wait… what? Why?" Casey looked confused, but the look that April gave him had him almost regretting that he had asked anything at all.

"Because he's a friend of mine. I can explain after we've moved him," April said.

"You could explain while we move him," Casey suggested as he moved to grab the turtle's upper body and April grabbed his feet.

"After," April said again, and together the two of them moved Mikey out of the kitchen and into April's bedroom. Casey stood back and watched as April fussed over the over-sized turtle. "Alright, red, you got some answers for me or what?" Casey asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This is Mikey, he's one of my friends," April said.

"He's a mutant," Casey said.

"And he, along with his brothers, have saved my life multiple times already. They're mutant turtles, but they're good guys," April explained, motioning for Casey to take a seat as she began to tell him how she had first met the turtles, and how close she had gotten to the strange, underground family. She ended her story with explaining that Mikey had been severely hurt recently; though no matter how much Casey pressed, she wouldn't give him actual details, which told Casey all he really needed to know.

"I'll stay here until he wakes up, wouldn't be right if I didn't apologise for whacking him upside the head like that," Casey said, making himself comfortable as he watched the unconscious turtle.

-x

The feeling of slowly waking up in a darkened room had Mikey's heart jumping into his throat. He didn't dare move, his eyes scanning the darkness as he tried to remember where he was, and why he was here.

He had gone out to see April, wanting to talk to her in person; he had snuck out of the lair without telling anyone. Left, even knowing that Slash was still out there somewhere. A shudder ran through Mikey's body and he must have made some kind of noise, because there was movement in the room then; someone was standing next to him.

Mikey closed his eyes tightly, hoping that whoever it was next to him would think he was still unconscious, and leave him alone. A hand touched his shoulder and Mikey jerked away before he could stop himself.

"Woah, easy, little dude." The strange voice had Mikey drawing himself into his shell. "Right…" the person said, there was more movement, and a moment later Mikey felt someone else touch his shell.

"Mikey, it's okay," a familiar voice soothed him.

"...April…?" Mikey slowly came out of his shell, blinking at his redheaded friend. "What… what happened?"

April glanced behind her, and Mikey followed her gaze, shrinking back slightly at the unfamiliar person standing by April's desk a couple feet away.

"You got hit over the head," April explained, gaining Mikey's attention again. "Pretty hard too," April said, moving her hand up and gently touching the back of Mikey's head causing the small turtle to flinch away from the sudden sharp pain that split through his skull. "Sorry," April apologized.

"Oh, I suppose that explains the killer headache," Mikey said, laying back down and waiting for his head to stop throbbing.

"Mikey, why are you here?" April asked, and Mikey frowned over at her, before once again looking toward the unknown person.

"Who are you?" Mikey asked.

"Name's Casey, Casey Jones," the boy said. "I was the one who hit ya, though I didn't mean to hit ya so hard, we thought you were a robber or something," he explained and earned a glare from April.

"Oh… maybe I really should have called first then," Mikey said, pushing himself up. "I should head home," Mikey said.

"Wait, why did you come here?" April asked again.

"It's not important," Mikey said, not comfortable talking about it with a stranger around.

"Mike…" April frowned, looking back at Casey as if he were going to be any help. Mikey looked between the two of them, frowning when it seemed like the two of them were having some sort of private conversation.

"I'll be in the kitchen," Casey finally said, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against before leaving the room. April turned back toward Mikey, looking expectant and Mikey lowered his gaze to his lap.

"Now can you tell me why you came here? It must be important," April said.

"It… I'm not sure if it really is or not," Mikey admitted. "I'm probably just blowing things out of proportion again," he said forcing himself to smile, and it didn't seem to have the desired effect of reassuring April.

"I want to help, but I can't do that unless you talk to me, Mikey," April said.

Mikey shook his head. "It's just, I'm confused… I thought," Mikey paused taking a deep breath as he tried to arrange his thoughts in his head before speaking again. "I had an episode today," Mikey admitted. "I was sparring with Leo, and… well I thought things were going good, things felt like they were getting back to normal… but Leo… he pinned me and I sort of freaked out," Mikey said.

"Oh… Mikey," April said, reaching out to place her hand on his, but stopped when he pulled away, he didn't want to be touched, and for some reason he couldn't figure out why talking to April right now was making him feel worse.

"I should leave," Mikey said, pushing himself up off the bed, ignoring the shocked look April was giving him.

"Mikey, wait," April said, reaching out to stop him but Mikey pulled away again, heading quickly for the window and climbing out onto the fire escape. "Mikey!" April called after him, but didn't chase him, something Mikey was grateful for as he made it up to the roof.

"You know, it's not nice to run away from people who are only trying to help." The voice startled Mikey, spinning around quickly and wincing as he was reminded of the new bump on the back of his head.

"I'm not...I'm not running away," Mikey denied, narrowing his eyes at the human boy who was standing not too far away, hockey stick in hand.

"Sure you are," Casey said, eyeing MIkey up and down as he stepped forward. Mikey backed away; he didn't know this human, he was obviously a friend of April's, however, he also had a mean swing on him as Mikey had the lump to prove it. "You're running away because April doesn't know what you're going through," Casey said. "The only thing she can give you is pity, not understanding."

Mikey frowned, tilting his head curiously. "Still doesn't mean I'm running," Mikey said.

"You're scared, confused, you're asking yourself 'why me?', you want the answer to that question more than anything in the world right now, because if someone would just give you that answer, maybe you could get over everything, move on with your life and forget it ever happened," Casey said. Mikey was taken aback at hearing his thoughts being voiced by someone else, someone he didn't even know.

"How…?"

"April told me," Casey said, "okay, well she didn't tell me exactly," he added quickly. "She told me a friend of her's got hurt a little while ago, and she wasn't sure how to handle it or what she should do to help, so I was giving her pointers as best I could."

"Why are you so sure I'm that friend she was talking about?" Mikey asked.

"Lucky guess?" Casey shrugged. "Among other things, I knew she had a friend that was hurt, one that she wasn't sure would feel comfortable meeting 'new people'." Casey eyed Mikey up and down again, the orange-banded turtle shifted uncomfortably. "Though really, it really was just a lucky guess." Casey grinned and Mikey frowned at this strange human.

"Okay," Mikey said slowly. "But how did you know… um… what you said before, about why I'm running away." Mikey wanted to know how this boy knew, how he seemed to know and just understand what Mikey was feeling at that moment.

"Let's just say I've been where you are," Casey said, pulling something out of his pocket and tossing it onto the ground, taking his hockey stick and started hitting the ball around. "I know what it's like to be attacked, to have people around who want to help, but they have no fucking clue what you're even going through, and all they want you to do is talk about it, for you to explain it to them so they can understand, because they think that if they do they'll know how to help you," Casey said, and Mikey could see the anger not just on the boy's face, but in his movements as he swung the hockey stick, hitting the ball hard enough that it hit the AC unit on the roof, bounced off and came right back to him.

"They're only trying to help though," Mikey said.

Casey nodded. "Yes they are, but you can't help but feel angry at them for not understanding." He looked at Mikey, who also nodded his head in agreement.

"How do you… is there a way to get over it? To go back to how things were?" Mikey asked.

"Nothing's ever going to be how it was," Casey said, almost sounding apologetic as he said it. "There are going to be good days, and bad days," he said, hitting the ball again with less force than last time, sending it rolling over to Mikey. "There's another stick over there." Casey nodded to behind where Mikey was standing. Turning around, the orange-banded turtle smiled when he saw there was indeed another hockey stick sitting over near the fire escape.

Mikey picked up the stick, looking it over before he turned back toward Casey and hit the ball back toward him. As the two of them continued playing, Mikey was a little surprised that he was feeling so relaxed around this complete stranger, when half the time he wasn't this comfortable around his own brothers anymore.

They didn't talk any more, just continued hitting the ball back and forth for nearly half an hour, until Mikey's T-phone started ringing. "Oh shell," Mikey said, looking at the caller ID on his phone, Leo was calling him. Looking up at Casey apologetically, Mikey tossed the hockey stick back to the teen. "Sorry, dude, I have to get going, I'm going to be so grounded for this," Mikey said, ignoring the call but shooting a quick text off to Leo telling him he was on his way home.

"No problem, little dude," Casey said. "I'll see ya around," he called after Mikey as the orange-banded turtle took off over the buildings, heading for home. Mikey was a little disappointed that in the end he hadn't been able to talk about what Leo had said, however, the young turtle decided that that was okay, because he had gotten a new friend tonight. Someone who understood what he was going through, without him having to put it into words.

Making it to the nearest manhole cover, Mikey dropped down into the sewers and headed for home. He was dreading how much trouble he was going to be in for leaving and not telling anyone, but it had been worth it.

Mikey already knew that Leo was going to be waiting for him when he returned, he had half expected Splinter to be waiting as well. He wasn't sure how to feel when he saw that it was just Leo.

"Uh… Hey," Mikey greeted, forcing a smile.

"Where were you, Mikey?" Leo asked.

"I… I had to clear my head," Mikey said, which was technically true.

"You left without telling anyone," Leo said disapprovingly, though Mikey knew that Leo had most likely just been worried about him. After all Mikey wasn't the one who usually vanished from his bed in the middle of the night, that was more like something Raph would do.

"I'm sorry," Mikey said. "I just, I had a lot to think about, and… I needed some fresh air," Mikey admitted.

"You went topside?" Leo asked, and Mikey nodded slowly in confirmation. "Mikey, you know that is very dangerous, The Foot are still out there, as well as the Kraang. What if one of them had caught you?"

Mikey lowered his head. "I was super careful, bro," he said, but he knew that he wasn't getting out of being lectured.

"That's not the point," Leo said, letting out a long sigh he reached out and placed a hand on Mikey's head. "I was really worried when I found you missing, I thought…" Leo shook his head. "Never mind, just, don't let this happen again, okay? If you need to go out for some fresh air, at least tell someone where you're going, next time?"

Mikey nodded. He did feel horrible for sneaking off, and he didn't want to point out that he wouldn't have left if Leo hadn't cornered him earlier that day. "I promise, won't happen again," Mikey said, smiling brightly up at Leo, who smiled back. Mikey hurried off toward his room, closing the door behind him and leaning against it.

Leo wanted things to be as they were, he wanted to know that his family was safe from harm. Mikey knew that, though at the same time he also knew that his new friend Casey had also been right; nothing was ever going to be the same as it had been.

"But I can pretend that it is," Mikey said. He was really good at locking away his anger, he had been doing that since they were really little, and Raph had started having some serious anger issues. Mikey just had to start locking away his pain and fear, go back to being the happy little brother that Leo wanted him to be.

TBC

OKay! So I feel like I should explain a little bit about Leo's behavior in this chapter. Leo is NOT a bad guy, and he does truly care about Mikey. However, right now Leo is having a difficult time trying to balance his role as Leader, with his role as Big Brother. I feel like for Leo, he has a hard time separating the two. And for him, if he is scared of something, he has to push past that fear because it could one day be the difference between life or death for his brothers. In this story, he is trying to get Mikey to apply that method to what happened with Slash, because he hasn't fully realised that what Mikey needs right now is his big brother, not his leader.


	8. Chapter 8

I do want to thank you all for your reviews and patience with this! I know this chapter is MONTHS overdue! I do have a good excuse for it though!

1, I got engaged! 3 so yay for that!

2, I'm getting married in January 2018! 3 double yay!

3, I am moving to England in February! XD

So busy, busy, REALLY busy life things have happened! I have been meaning to get this chapter updated to make the announcement. So here it is!

Chapter 8

Mikey hummed to himself as he danced around the kitchen, throwing together a nice breakfast for his family. All of them were still sleeping, but Mikey knew from past experience that the first of his brothers would be walking through the kitchen door soon. It was a toss up between Leo and Donnie; the blue banded turtle would be the first awake, if Donnie hadn't spent the whole night working in his lab.

A noise behind him caught Mikey's attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled brightly when he saw Donnie slowly shuffle his way into the kitchen.

"Morning, D!" Mikey greeted, laughing at the stunned look that Donnie was giving him.

"Mikey?" Donnie frowned.

"Have a seat, bro, food is almost done, and I just started a fresh pot of coffee for you," Mikey said, turning his attention back toward the stove.

"Mikey, are you… are you okay?" Donnie asked hesitantly. Mikey glanced at him again.

"Totally fine, dude," Mikey said, grinning widely as he turned to place the plate of scrambled eggs on the table.

Before Donnie could ask any more questions, Mikey had turned away again and was back at the stove mixing up more scrambled eggs. He was setting up two more plates by the time Leo joined them in the kitchen, followed shortly by Raph.

"Morning!" Mikey greeted them, placing the plates down on the table just as the two oldest turtles sat down. Raph exchanged a look with Donnie who just shrugged; Leo, however, returned Mikey's smile.

"Good morning," Leo replied, and he started eating his own food.

Mikey fixed up a plate for himself, and one for Master Splinter, setting the plates on the table before taking his own seat and starting to eat his food quickly.

"I'm glad you decided to cook this morning, I don't know if any of us would have survived any more cooking attempts from myself or Raph," Leo said. It had been a week since the two of them had spoken, and he was glad to see that Mikey was moving on.

"Speak for yourself, Fearless," Raph snapped, narrowing his eyes at Leo before fixing his gaze on Mikey. He didn't say anything as Mikey was finished eating before any of them.

"I'm going to try and get some game time in before practice!" Mikey said tossing his plate into the sink before he darted out of the kitchen, nearly running Splinter over in his haste.

"Watch where you are going, Michelangelo," Splinter reprimanded.

"Sorry, Sensei!" Mikey called over his shoulder, jumping over the back of the couch and snatching up the controller that had been abandoned on the floor. Splinter raised an eyebrow at his energetic son, before continuing on his way into the kitchen.

Mikey glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen, once he was sure that Splinter was no longer standing in the doorway watching him. He let out a small sigh and turned his attention back toward the game he was starting up. His mind wasn't on the game though, and he blindly played through each level as they came up, his thoughts elsewhere.

Leo's words continued playing over and over in his head; he was just overreacting, seeking attention, and his oldest brother had made it quite clear that enough was enough. It didn't matter if every time someone touched him it made his skin crawl, it didn't matter that being pinned down or knocked to the floor during training sent him into a panic attack.

What did matter was the fact that Leo wanted things to be normal again, and even if Mikey felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out, he was going to be make sure things were as normal as he could make them.

That's why, an hour later when everyone was finished eating and the kitchen had been cleaned up from their breakfast mess, Mikey turned toward his brothers giving them a big smile.

"Who wants to bet a whole pizza that I can knock Raph down today?" Mikey said, standing from the couch and following his family into the dojo. Donnie and Raph were still giving each other worried looks, but Mikey was determined to make those vanish by the end of the day.

-x

Leo watched Mikey, watched how focused his brother had become, the determined look set firmly on his face as they went through their morning training. Leo was beyond happy with his youngest brother, and could only conclude that the talk he had had with him, over a week ago now, had truly been what Michelangelo needed. The thing that surprised Leo the most was how quickly Mikey had changed; he almost didn't seem like the same person.

However, Leo had also noticed that he seemed to be the only one happy about Mikey's new attitude. Splinter, like Leo, had also been watching Mikey more often, and no doubt had also seen the change in him. Though unlike Leo, Splinter seemed to be more worried about the change.

"Yame," Splinter called out, putting a stop to the training session. "That is enough for today."

"But we've only been training for half an hour." Leo frowned.

"Are you unwell, Sensei?" Donnie asked in concern, moving forward a step before Splinter held a hand up stopping his progress.

"I am quite alright, my son, I have simply decided to cut today's training short. My mind has been troubled recently, and I wish to meditate for a time," Splinter informed them.

Leo watched as his brothers exited the dojo; he, however, remained for a moment longer. Turning back, he saw Splinter standing in front of the large tree that grew there. Not wanting to disturb his father, Leo went to follow his brothers.

"Leonardo," Splinter spoke, stopping his eldest son. Leo turned back toward Splinter; the tall rat still had his back toward him and Leo frowned.

"Sensei?" Leo questioned, hesitantly moving forward until he was standing next to his father.

Splinter let out a small sigh. "You are planning on going topside with your brothers this evening?"

"Hai, sensei, we have been slacking lately due to recent events…" Leo trailed off, his mind wandering toward his youngest brother again.

"Hmm." Splinter nodded. "I do not wish to restrict you boys to the Lair, heaven knows my words have fallen on deaf ears before." Splinter smiled and finally turned to look at Leo. "Please be careful up there, my son."

"We always are," Leo promised, returning the smile, though it faded a moment later. "Are you really alright, Sensei?" Leo asked, concern clearly written on his face.

"Just an old rat's worry," Splinter said. "Now, go see to your brothers. Please inform me when you are leaving," Splinter said and Leo nodded.

Making his way out into the main part of the Lair, Leo looked around. He had expected to see his brothers in their usual spots; Raph at his punching bag; Mikey taking up nearly the whole couch as he played whatever new game he had found; And Donnie either tinkering with something nearby, or else in his lab, if the genius turtle had made a beeline for his sanctuary.

However this was not the case.

Raph and Donnie were sitting on the couch having a whispered conversation. And Mikey was nowhere to be seen. Leo scanned the room once more, to make sure that he hadn't just missed him, but it seemed that their youngest brother had gone off somewhere else. He shrugged it off, making his way over to the couch.

"I'm tellin' ya, there is something seriously wrong with him," Raph growled.

"What do you want me to do? I'm not a doctor, and I'm certainly not a physiatrist," Donnie huffed. "The only thing any of us can do is wait and see if he comes to talk to us, and we DON'T chase him demanding answers so that he locks himself in the damn bathroom again!" Donnie gave Raph an accusing glare. However, the red-banded turtle seemed unfazed by it.

"What's going on?" Leo asked, looking between the two of them. "Did something happen with Mikey?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" Raph turned his own glare toward the eldest turtle.

Leo was taken aback by the hostility shown toward him. Not that it was unusual for Raph to take his anger out on him, the two of them butted heads more often than not, but Leo couldn't think of anything that he'd done recently to earn his hot-headed brother's anger.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I care. Mikey's as much my brother as he is yours," Leo said.

"You sure have a funny way of showin' it," Raph said, standing up. "I'm going out for some fresh air," he said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?," Leo asked again, sounding more demanding this time as his own anger started rising, though he had a better hold on it than Raph did. The red-banded turtle didn't answer, just continued on his way out into the sewers. And Leo would have followed after him, demanded answers, and probably gotten into a fight with his brother as usual, if Donnie hadn't spoken up, stopping him in his tracks.

"It's about Mikey," Donnie said.

Leo turned back toward his brother, who was still seated on the couch. "I gathered that much. What happened?"

Donnie looked sadly up at Leo. "Haven't you noticed how he's acting recently?" Donnie questioned.

"He seemed to be doing better," Leo said.

Donnie nodded. "Yes, he does seem to be, but I have reason to believe that he's not doing as well as he'd like us to think."

Leo frowned, thinking this over, trying to recall if he had seen anything that would have raised this kind of suspicion. "He seems more focused," Leo said. "I thought he was just using training to help him get over what happened with Slash."

"Leo," Donnie stared at his brother in mild disbelief. "He was raped, that's not something you just 'get over'." Letting out a long sigh Donnie messaged his temples as if trying to ward off an oncoming headache.

"What happened to him is no worse than any other injury we've had before," Leo said, "I think you and Raph are worrying too much about it."

"I don't believe I'm hearing this, I really don't," Donnie said, looking up at Leo again.

"Look, Donnie, I'm not saying what happened wasn't horrible," Leo said, trying to explain himself. "And if we ever have the misfortune of seeing Slash again, there is no way any of us are going to let him walk away. But it's been two months since Mikey was attacked, his physical injuries have healed, so now he can spend the time and start putting this behind him," Leo said.

"It's not that simple, Leo!" Donnie snapped, taking his brother by surprise. "Ever since… since that happened to Mikey, I've been doing research, trying to find some way that I can help him. Being raped is more than just physical," Donnie said, and knew immediately that Leo still didn't fully understand what he was talking about.

"Why is it so hard to believe that Mikey might actually be doing alright?" Leo asked.

Donnie sighed again. "I want him to be doing alright, I really do, Leo. I want to believe that he's healing, and I could almost believe it, if it wasn't for the subtle things he does."

"Like what?" Leo asked curiously, wondering if he could have actually missed something.

"Like how he flinches away from being touched; how he doesn't sit next to anyone on the couch anymore; how as soon as we're done with training he spends an hours in the shower," Donnie said.

Leo opened his mouth to retort, but paused, mulling it over. He didn't remember seeing Mikey doing any of that stuff, but knew that Donnie wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. "You sure you're not just reading too much into things?" Leo questioned uncertainly.

"No I'm not sure," Donnie admitted, "though I could ask you the same thing, Leo. You want so much for Mikey to be better; are you sure you're not just convincing yourself that he IS better?" Donnie shot back.

Leo frowned, truly thinking about what Donnie had just said. He had no reply for it. When Leo didn't reply, Donnie continued speaking, hoping that he could at least make his older brother see things from a different point of view.

"None of us knows how to deal with something like this, and as far as I can tell from what I've researched, there is no 'right treatment' for what he's been through. Mikey COULD genuinely be doing better; but at the same time, he could also be hiding from what happened, which isn't healthy."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Leo demanded,sounding beyond frustrated. "There is nothing we can do for him; you said it yourself, none of us knows how to deal with this."

"At least I'm trying to help!" Donnie shouted. "You're going around acting as if nothing even happened. And Raph's even worse! Did you know he's been hunting for Slash nearly every night now?"

"Raph wouldn't-"

"Don't say he wouldn't do it, you know he would," Donnie interrupted. "It's how he deals with things he doesn't understand, he finds what he believes the source of the problem is, and he gets rid of it."

Leo's face went blank, turning to look at the entrance of the Lair. He was going to have to corner Raph at some point and put a stop to this. Going out and looking for Slash wasn't going to help anyone.

"I don't know what we should be doing, Leo," Donnie admitted, "but we can't just tuck our heads in our shells and pretend that everything is fine." Donnie continued to watch his brother, waiting for some kind of reaction.

But Leo said nothing for a long moment, his eyes still fixed on the entrance of the Lair, as if silently debating about going after Raph now. However his attention drifted toward the hallway that led to their rooms.

"I'll fix this," Leo said, heading toward their rooms. and Donnie sighed softly shaking his head sadly. He didn't know how he was going to get through to Leo and make his older brother understand, this wasn't something he could just fix.

-x

Mikey opened his eyes groggily, feeling tired and wanting to sink back into the oblivion of sleep; he was curled up under his desk, hidden behind the blanket that he had hung over it, one of the only places he felt safe. Blinking slowly, he tried to figure out what it was that had woken him up.

"Mikey?" Leo said softly into the room before the light was turned on. Mikey pulled the blanket that was hiding him aside, peering out from under his desk to look at Leo.

"Right here, bro." Mikey said, letting out a yawn as he rubbed his eyes. "Wha's goin' on?" he asked tiredly.

"What are you doing, sleeping under your desk?" Leo questioned, coming over to kneel in front of Mikey, pushing the blanket further out of the way so he could see more of his baby brother.

"Nothing," Mikey answered as he sat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten. We're leaving on patrol in about fifteen minutes," Leo said.

This surprised Mikey, since he had been banned from going on patrol over the last couple months. Though that had been mostly due to the fact he needed time to recover after his attack; however Mikey wasn't all that eager to return to the surface world just yet.

"Oh, do I have to go?" Mikey asked, half hoping that Leo would let him stay hidden down here for a bit longer. Though Mikey knew that wasn't very likely; Leo was determined to get things back to normal.

"Yes, I would like to start getting this team back in shape, regular patrols again. Though, since it's been a couple months for you, we won't be out too late tonight," Leo promised.

Mikey sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll be out in five minutes." Mikey watched as Leo let go of the blanket that covered the entrance to the space under Mikey's desk. Waiting until he heard his door close Mikey let out a long sigh.

"Have to act normal," Mikey told himself, crawling out from his safe place, shivering as the cool air in his room seemed to press in on him. All Mikey really wanted to do was crawl back under his desk where he had piled his blankets, curl up and go back to sleep.

With very little motivation, Mikey started pulling on his knee and elbow pads, tying on his mask before locating his nunchucks that had been tossed up on his shelves. Mikey stood there in the middle of his room for a moment. Giving one last look to his little hiding space, he steeled himself and went out to the main room, where his brothers were already waiting for him.

"Alright team, let's go," Leo said, once he spotted Mikey.

Mikey let his brothers go on ahead of him, staying a few paces behind them as they jumped the turnstiles and ran through the sewers. "So where are we going?" Mikey asked, trying to break the silence a little.

"Just out to get some training done," Leo answered. "It's been too long since we've been out as a team."

Mikey bit his lip, unsure if Leo had meant to sound accusing when he spoke, or if Mikey was just feeling guilty about it because he knew it was his fault they hadn't been a 'team' in two months now. Either way, Mikey fell silent and followed his brothers, doing his best to stay focused and alert.

They made it to the surface far quicker than Mikey would have liked, he was the last one out of the manhole, climbing out after his brothers and sliding the cover back into place before quickly joining them on the roof.

"Alright, I think we should start off with a run," Leo said, "get warmed up, then maybe find a place to get some real good ninja stealth training in."

"Y'all can go play hide and seek if you want, I'm gonna go find some purple dragons to clobber for my warm up," Raph said.

"No Raph," Leo snapped. "We stick together as a team tonight, we've been slacking too much, and if we don't get back into the swing of things, the Kraang are going to take over the city, or the foot, or-"

"We get it Leo," Donnie said.

Mikey remained off to the side watching his brothers, he glanced behind him over the edge of the roof back toward the manhole cover, silently wondering to himself if he could sneak away and go home instead. He really wasn't in the mood to be out here right now, he just felt so drained recently.

"Mikey!" The harsh snap of his name shocked Mikey out of his thoughts and back to reality. He turned quickly to look at Leo, grinning widely.

"Present!" Mikey said, smiling wider when Leo rolled his eyes.

"Let's go, and try not to fall behind," Leo said, giving Mikey a serious look before he turned and took off, leaving his three brothers to follow him.

"Well, let's get this over with, I'm already hungry! The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat!" Mikey said with a laugh, ignoring the looks that Raph and Donnie were giving him, he took off after Leo. The same mantra of 'acting normal, have to act normal' kept playing over and over in his head. The more he acted like his usual self, the better off his family would be.

-x

The run across the rooftops had been more refreshing than Mikey had expected it to be, the freedom of running, and jumping was apparently what he needed. Even if he had been scolded by Leo more than once for taking stupid chances, by jumping over the larger gaps between the buildings, while his three brothers used their grappling hooks

"That was incredibly dangerous, Mikey!" Donnie said, looking worriedly at Mikey.

"I made it, didn't I?" Mikey said with a shrug.

"That's not the point," Donnie sighed.

"I told you no more stunts like that," Leo snapped.

Raph rolled his eyes and walked over to stand between Leo and Mikey. "Let the goofball have a bit of fun, it's not like he's had much in the past few months, 'sides, if anyone can make those longer jumps, it's Mikey, and possibly Don," Raph pointed out.

"Except I have the brains enough to not try something like that," Donnie said as he looked back over the buildings they had just jumped from."

"Dude's! Chill out," Mikey huffed. "I'm okay, I made it, and I've jumped longer distances than that before," Mikey said wanting to put an end to the discussion before it turned into a real argument.

Leo let out another long sigh, shaking his head in clear disappointment. "That's enough for tonight I think," Leo turned. "Let's head back."

Mikey watched as his brothers nodded in agreement and turned to head back in the direction of the Lair. Biting his lip Mikey glanced around, they weren't very close to April's, something that Leo had obviously done on purpose to stop Donnie from running off. But Mikey had already made plans to meet up with Casey, and he wasn't willing to change those plans just yet.

"Actually," MIkey said, backing away from his brothers even as they turned to look at him. "I called in a pizza order, so I'm just gonna go pick that up! Meet you back at home!" Mikey said and was gone before his brothers could say anything. He ignored the shouts, and knew that they were going to try and follow him, however Mikey also knew that with his head start, and the fact that he was the fastest out of all of them, there was no way his brothers would catch up with him.

Mikey took the long way around, wanting to make sure that he lost his brothers before he went over to April's. Because of this, Mikey was nearly an hour late, and he could see Casey pacing back and forth on the roof before he had even landed.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Mikey said quickly.

"Hey, no sweat little dude," Casey said, tossing Mikey the extra hockey stick. "You ready to play a bit? Or you want to just head down and raid April's kitchen?"

"I'm not in the mood for anything really… I just needed to get away from my family tonight…" Mikey admitted.

"Things still tough at home?" Casey questioned.

"Yeah, not in a bad way…it's just… suffocating," Mikey said, smiling a little when Casey nodded his head in understanding. It was so easy to speak with Casey, knowing that the other teen just understood things, without Mikey having to go into detail.

"I think what makes it so much worse, is that I know they're just trying to help," Mikey said. "I can't help but think, maybe Leo was right… maybe I am just overreacting to all of this. Maybe it's time to just let it go and move on…"

"Dude, we talked about this," Casey said.

"I know!" Mikey threw his hands into the air. "I know we did… and you were right, things aren't going to go back to normal, but… if I keep acting normal, at least then I'm not bothering them… they seem happier… I mean, just because I have to live with what happened… it doesn't mean they have to be burdened with it too," Mikey said.

Casey sighed and shook his head. "That's only going to hurt you in the long run."

"I don't really care about that anymore," Mikey sighed. "My family is all I have, without them I…"

"You're useless," the new voice joined them, and Mikey tensed, his eyes widening and his face lost several shades of green. Reaching for his nunchucks Mikey turned around, trying to locate where the larger turtle was.

"Who's there?" Casey frowned, taking in Mikey's defensive pose.

"Slash," Mikey answered, gripping his nunchucks tighter than he normally would as he pushed down the fear that was threatening to overtake him at hearing that voice again.

Nothing more had to be said, Casey going on the defensive too. "Come out you creepy freak," Casey said, pressing his back against Mikey's as he held up his hockey stick like a weapon.

"I didn't think there was anyone more pathetic than you, Michelangelo," Slash said. "I'm amused to see I've been proven wrong."

"What do you want?" Mikey demanded, hoping he wouldn't regret asking that question. Movement off to the side caught Mikey's attention, the orange banded turtle had less than a second to react, pushing backward he knocked Casey to the ground, rolling over the other teen he landed back on his feet.

Mikey straightened up, ready to go back on the defensive, however he had underestimated how fast Slash really was. Mikey didn't have enough time to react when a large fist connected with his stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying backward across the rooftop.

"Mikey!" Casey shouted, staring in horror as the orange banded turtle rolled across the rooftop, coming to stop near the edge. Slash started moving toward Mikey as the small turtle lifted himself up, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Hey, freak! Leave him alone!" Casey ordered, grabbing his hockey stick as he stood and prepared himself to face this oversized turtle. Slash however, didn't even look at him, just continued walking toward Mikey. Letting out a yell, Casey charged, swinging his hockey stick at the large turtle.

Slash growled, turning quickly he caught the stick in one hand, snapping it in half and tossing the broken bits aside. "Get lost," he glared down at Casey, raising his hand to backhand the teen.

"No!" Mikey shouted, recovering from the previous attack, he ran at Slash, catching the monster off guard he managed to hit him in the head with his nunchucks. "Casey, run!" Mikey shouted, dodging the next attack Slash aimed at him.

"No way!" Casey reached to grab another hockey stick.

"This guy is to big, he'll flatten you! Go get April!" Mikey said, hitting Slash again.

"What can she do?" Casey demanded, looking for an opening to attack Slash.

Mikey couldn't answer, too busy dodging another strike from Slash, Mikey noticed that Casey wasn't going anywhere, and Mikey knew he couldn't keep this fight here, he had to lead Slash away.

"Come on you big idiot!" Mikey said, sounding braver than he truly felt, he couldn't let Casey get caught by this monster, and even though Mikey was terrified that Slash would catch him again, he couldn't let his new friend get hurt.

Casey watched in horror as Mikey darted off in one direction, Slash giving chase. "Fuck!" Casey said, darting forward to chase after them, but stopped when he reached the edge of the building. The jump wouldn't be easy enough, however Mikey and Slash were already three buildings ahead, and Casey knew there was no way he could catch up to them.

"Fuck!" He shouted again, turning quickly, moving as fast as he could Casey ran down the fire escape, jumping down whole sets of stairs at once. Ignoring the stinging pain in his legs each time he landed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

"April! We've got trouble!" Casey yelled, before he had even reached the open window to the redheads apartment, hoping she was close enough by that she heard him, and that she would know what to do.

TBC

I know! Bad place to leave this chapter! Seeing as how it took me so long to update! But as far as excuses go, getting engaged, planning a wedding, and a move out of country, I think my lack of updates are fairly reasonable.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Raph was sure he had never been so angry in his life. April's frantic voice was still ringing in his ears, as he raced off toward her place, not even bothering to make sure his other two brothers were keeping up. The only thing Raph knew was that Mikey was in trouble, and he had to help his brother before Slash hurt him again.

None of them spoke as they took the quickest route to April's apartment building. They weren't far off now, and Raph could see the familiar red-head pacing around the rooftop, some creep in a hockey mask standing off to the side.

It only took a moment for Raph to put two and two together; this was the kid April had mentioned, the one that Mikey had been with when Slash had shown up. Putting on a burst of extra speed, Raph ran the length of the last building, jumping the gap and plowing directly into the teen.

"Where is my brother?" Raph shouted at the stunned kid beneath him.

"Ow! Get off!" the kid yelled as he struggled, but Raph gripped his shirt tighter.

"Where is he?" Raph demanded again.

"Raphael!" April pulled at his arm. "Let him up, Casey didn't do anything to Mikey!"

"Yeah, ya creep! That psycho turtle chased him off, and if you get your fat shell off me, I'll show you what way they went!"

"Raph." Leo's stern voice broke through the angry fog clouding Raph's mind.

Growling, the red-banded turtle let the teen go, satisfied to hear a soft 'oof' when he hit the ground again.

"April, can you tell us what happened?" Donnie asked, and Raph narrowed his eyes at his brothers.

"We already know what happened! Slash chased him off into the city!" Raph snapped.

"I didn't see what happened," April said, sparing only a glance toward Raph as she quickly explained what Casey had told her before.

"Your little dude is fast, but that guy was HUGE! I mean seriously huge. They ran off in that direction," Casey said, pointing the way he had seen Mikey and Slash go.

"And you what, just stood by and watched?" Raph growled, fists clenched and ready to pound into this kid, who was giving them nothing more than vague details about what had happened.

"Lay off, greenie! Mikey's my friend, and I don't want to see him hurt either! But I knew there was no way I could keep up with them, I knew the little dude had brothers, and I figured April knew how to get in touch with you guys," Casey said.

"You did the right thing," Leo said, nodding his thanks to Casey. "We may have to split up to search for Mikey," Leo said and turned toward Donnie. "Any chance you might be able to track his t-phone?"

"It's possible, but that will depend on if it's still on or if Mikey even has it with him right now," Donnie said, pulling out his own t-phone and starting typing away on it.

"What the fuck is WRONG with you two?" Raph shouted, staring at his brothers in disbelief. "Slash is out there, chasing after our brother AGAIN! And you two just want to stand here and chit-chat about everything? Are you even worried about-"

"Of course we're worried!" Donnie yelled back, taking everyone by surprise, as it was rare that the purple-banded turtle would raise his voice in such a way. "I am completely freaking out right now, Raph. I know exactly how hurt Mikey was after the last time Slash got him! My brain is happily supplying me with hundreds of ways he could be hurting Mikey right now, and the sooner you calm the FUCK DOWN, the sooner I can focus enough to find a way to track our brother BEFORE something happens to him!" Donnie turned his shell on his brothers then and returned to typing on his phone, however Raph saw his brother wiping away his tears.

Raph was still fuming, he still wanted to punch something, wanted to do anything other than stand there on that building and wait. Turning away from Donnie, Raph looked over at Leo; the blue-banded brother was staring in the direction that the Casey kid had pointed. Outwardly he looked calm, and very much in control of himself as he patiently waited for Donnie to find something.

Maybe it was all the fights he had gotten in with Leo before, the years of throwing punches at each other, of studying Leo's every move, or maybe it was just the fact that they were brothers, but Raph could tell that Leo wasn't as calm as he was portraying himself to be. His eyes were narrowed more than usual, every ninja sense in him was on high alert, trying to pick up the slightest trace of their brother. But what really gave him away, was the fact that Leo was holding his katana, the sharp weapon was out, meaning Leo was ready for a fight.

"I've got him!" Donnie said, wasting no time before heading off over the rooftops.

"Let's go," Leo said. "April, you and Casey wait here, in case Mikey comes back," he ordered.

"What? No way, yo, no one benches Casey Jones," the teen said, pulling his mask down over his face again.

"Well, Casey Jones, if you can keep up, be my guest," Leo said and turned, moving swiftly across the rooftop after Donnie. Raph shot a glare toward Casey before he too took off after his brothers.

"Mikey might be in hiding at the moment, he's not moving," Donnie said as his brothers caught up with him, glancing at the screen of his phone to make sure they were moving in the right direction.

"If Slash even thinks about touching him again," Raph growled.

"We'll deal with him," Leo said, his voice low and dark, the white eyelid in place over his eyes and Raph didn't know if he was happy or scared to see Leo show this kind of anger about the situation.

-x

Mikey stamped down on the rising panic that was threatening to overtake him; he didn't dare look back, there was no need to see Slash, he knew the larger turtle was gaining on him. Turning sharply to the right, Mikey dove off another building, using the fire escape so he didn't fall too fast, or land too hard on the ground.

He heard Slash let out a rawr.

Eyes wide, Mikey moved to run out of the alley. He needed to find a manhole cover and get down to the sewers. He had just made it to the entrance of the alley when Slash landed in front of him.

Mikey yelled, dodging the large hand that swung at him. "What do you want?" Mikey demanded, his voice shaking as he backed away quickly.

"Revenge," Slash said in a low, growling hiss.

"I never did anything to you!" Mikey said, eyes darting around looking for an escape.

"You've had Raphael hunting me," Slash said, his claws scraping on the side of the building, leaving large gouges in the brick.

Mikey shook his head. "I haven't! I haven't done-"

"You told your brothers what I did to you," Slash said, narrowing his eyes. "You lied to Raphael, and now he's hunting me. You've turned him against me." Slash continued to advance on Mikey.

"St-stay away from me!" Mikey shouted, picking up the lid to a metal garbage can and throwing it at Slash.

There was another rawr of rage from the large turtle, and Mikey jumped up onto the first part of the fire escape, intending to leapfrog his way back up to the roofs again. As he moved to jump a second time however, Slash's large hand wrapped around his ankle.

Mikey screamed as he was pulled down, his shell slamming into the concrete, sending pain shooting up his back. Slash didn't let him go, keeping hold of his ankle he lifted Mikey and slammed him into the wall next, each impact sending a new shockwave of pain through the orange-banded turtle.

"I'm going to destroy you, and your brothers, and then nothing, NOTHING will stand between me and Raphael again!" Slash raged, bringing Mikey down to the ground once more, satisfied when he heard the echoing crack of Mikey's shell as it hit the concrete again.

Mikey lay there gasping for air, as his mind tried to catch up with the fact that he had just been thrown around like a rag doll. Shifting his eyes to look at Slash, the terrifying form of the larger turtle loomed over him. Hurt, fear, and anger surged in him, and Mikey lost focus as he twisted sharply, bringing his free foot up to kick Slash in the face.

The other turtle clearly hadn't been expecting that, losing his grip on Mikey's ankle. Now free, Mikey released the blade from his nunchuck, turning it into a kusarigama.

Mikey cried out with each attack, swinging his weapon around, trying to do as much damage to Slash as he could. Everything Mikey had felt over the last two months came pouring out of him, the feeling of isolation, trying to hide his pain, and now being faced with his attacker again. Mikey couldn't have held back if he tried.

Swinging his kusarigama down, Mikey blinked out of his haze when he heard Slash let out another rawr, this one of pain. Looking down, Mikey's eyes widened in horror when he saw blood pooling around the blade of his weapon that was sticking into Slash's shoulder.

However, this moment of hesitation was all Slash needed to turn things around again. Grabbing Mikey's wrist, Slash pried it away from the weapon. "You're going to pay for that as well," Slash hissed, weapon still embedded in his shoulder as he stood up, gripping Mikey's wrist tighter.

Mikey cried out, feeling the bones in his wrist rubbing together until, SNAP. The scream echoed off the walls of the alley. Slash dropped Mikey to the ground, watching the smaller turtle cradle his wrist as he kicked back, trying to put some distance between the two of them. Slash didn't let him get far, reaching out one final time he grabbed Mikey by the head.

Mikey struggled weakly, tears streaming down his face when Slash grabbed him again, and the last thing he felt was the blinding pain of his head being smashed into the wall.

-x

Donnie's hands were trembling as he slowly knelt down, picking up the t-phone that was all but ruined from being smashed on the ground. "Mikey?" he said softly, looking up and searching the alleyway for his brother. "Mikey! Where are you?" he called louder.

"He's not here," Leo said, coming over to where Donnie was knelt. Brown eyes stared up at Leo, before trailing down to the broken weapon in their leader's hand.

"No, he has to be here," Donnie said standing up. "His phone is here, he has to be somewhere," he argued and spun around. "Mikey!" he yelled louder.

"There's blood over here," Raph said from near the back of the alley.

"There's blood over there too. It looks like Mikey out up one hell of a fight," Leo said, his hand gripping the kusarigama tightly.

"This is all your fucking fault!" Raph yelled, stomping his way over to Leo.

"Yes it is," the blue-banded turtle said sadly.

"If you hadn't had your head so far up your ass, then MAYBE we could have caught Slash BEFORE he took Mikey again!" Raph raged on.

"We'll find him," Leo said.

"And listen to you now! Standing there so fucking calmly!" Raph pushed Leo up against the wall, green eyes sparking with anger when the blue-banded turtle didn't so much as flinch.

"Stop it!" Donnie said. "Fighting isn't going to help us find Mikey any faster!"

Growling, Raph gave Leo another shove before letting him go and turning to Donnie. "Do you have any way to find them?" He asked.

"I… no, I could track his t-phone, but other than that…" Donnie trailed off, feeling useless.

"We split up," Leo said, "search the city for him. Donnie, you call April, she can help, and find out if Mikey's friend wants to help look for him too."

"Fuck this, I'm not taking orders from you," Raph said, jumping up onto the fire escape. "I'm going to look for Slash."

"Raph, wait," Donnie said, moving to go after him, however Leo stopped him.

"No, let him go. He'll call if he finds Slash. I really need you to call April and that new guy, I'm going to call Splinter… he needs to know what happened," Leo said.

Donnie stared at Leo before nodding slowly. He wanted to follow Raph, wanted to be out there looking for Mikey before something bad happened to him again. No one had helped Mikey the first time, and Donnie refused to let that happen again.

"I'll call them," he said, pulling out his phone.

"When you've done that, I want you to search the docks for him. I'm going to search some of the abandoned buildings over in chinatown," Leo said.

"I'll call if I find anything," Donnie said before calling April. His hands were still shaking and his mind was going a mile a minute, thinking of possible places that Slash could have taken Mikey, and possible other ways he might be able to track the two of them.

Donnie was climbing back up to the rooftop when April answered her phone.

"Donnie? Did you find him? Is Mikey okay?"

"We didn't find him, we think…" Donnie trailed off for a moment as the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. "We think Slash got him."

"He, Mikey's missing?" April asked, and Donnie felt something twist in his gut again for how scared April sounded about the idea of Mikey missing, and being in the hands of that monster. There was a loud noise on the other end of the line before a new voice came through.

"Where's my little buddy?" Casey demanded.

"We don't know," Donnie shot back, feeling a mild irritation toward this new kid that none of them had known about before tonight.

"What do you mean you don't know? Didn't you guys say you were tracking him?" Casey snapped.

"I was tracking his PHONE, if he doesn't have it with him, there's no way to track him," Donnie explained. "Just put April back on the phone."

"Not until you tell me what you guys are doing to get my buddy back," Casey said.

"Look here meathead! The longer I spend talking to you, the farther away Slash could be taking Mikey, now put April back on the phone befo- oof!"

The phone clattered to the ground, Casey's voice still coming through the spreaker. "Hey? You still there? April, I think something just happened to your friend. I dunno, he's not answering."

"Donnie? Donnie, are you there? What happened?" April was on the phone now. "Donnie, where are-"

The line went dead as Slash stepped on Donnie's t-phone. Eyes narrowed, he looked down at the unconscious turtle; grabbing him he slung Donnie over his shoulder and disappeared into the shadows.

-x

Splinter could not shake the growing dread that something was wrong; his sons had gone out on patrol hours ago, and even though the sun was still a couple hours from rising, the four of them had yet to return home.

Splinter remained awake, meditating in the dojo, his ears twitching with every sound they picked up, waiting for his sons. He let his thoughts trail to his youngest son. The young teen seemed to have been recovering from his ordeal two months ago,however, Splinter knew there was still a darkness hovering over him, and try as he might, the boy had yet to open up to him.

Splinter feared that he had his eldest son to thank for Michelangelo closing himself off as he had; though Leonardo had meant well, he had inadvertently caused more harm. And now the only thing Splinter could do was sit and wait for the walls that the youngest of them had put up to come crumbling down. In the meantime, Splinter made sure his son knew there was an open door and a willing ear anytime he wished.

Sound from outside the dojo drew Splinter's attention. Leaving behind his failed attempt at meditation, he left the dojo.

"Welcome home, my sons," he said, pushing the screen door aside and paused, ears flattening against his head as he took in the sight of his two eldest. "My sons?" Splinter questioned, stepping further into the room and looking round. "Where are your brothers?" he asked, the growing dread he had had all night turning unpleasantly in his stomach once more.

"Why don't you ask fearless," Raph growled, the anger and pure hatred radiating from him wasn't so foreign to Splinter, however he had never felt such emotion from Raphael directed toward one of his own brothers before.

"Leonardo?" Splinter turned his full attention toward the eldest.

"They… Sensei, I have failed this family… I couldn't protect them and, I think…" Leo pulled Donnie's bo-staff from his back, holding it out to Splinter, his head bowed. "Slash has them, father. We looked everywhere we could think of, but the sun was coming up and we had to come back," Leo said, lifting his head slightly to look at Splinter.

Splinter frowned deeply, reaching out to take Donnie's staff from Leo, his eldest son flinching slightly, as if expecting some sort of retribution from him. Splinter couldn't find the words to reassure his son that he wasn't upset with him.

"We can go back out there now, Sensei," Raph said, anger apparent in his voice as one of his hands gripped the handle of his sai tightly.

"No, my son," Splinter said. "You have done enough for one evening. You two rest, the sun is up now, and even Slash will not venture out among the humans. We will resume the search tonight, as soon as it is dark." Splinter took Donatello's staff, turning to head back toward the dojo. "I am going to meditate."

Splinter left both Raphael and Leonardo in the pit, closing the paper screen door behind him. He did not have the strength to reassure his sons that their brothers would be alright, that they would find them both in one piece. The dread and fear that had been festering in him all night came to the surface, and he could not give his sons empty promises. Knowing what Slash was capable of already, Splinter had hope that his sons would be found alive, however, it was the physical and mental damage that he feared would befall his sons.

-x

Leo starred in the direction Splinter had gone Lowering his head, he slowly turned, intending to go to his room and wait there for nightfall again. However, Raph seemed to have something else in mind as he grabbed Leo by the arm.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" the red-banded turtle snapped, eyes blazing with barely controlled anger.

"I'm going to my room, I'm going to meditate too. You should also rest, we will need our strength to find Mikey and-"

"Cut the shit, Leo!" Raph yelled. "I've put up with your calm, 'I'm better than you' attitude all fucking night! Our brothers are MISSING, the least you could do is show some kind of goddamn emotion about it!"

Leo's eyes flashed dangerously as he spun to fully face his brother. "Don't push me, Raph. I'm just as upset, about this as you are."

"Then fucking prove it! You've not said a word since you found Donnie's staff, and if it weren't for you, Mikey NEVER would have run off on his own! We shouldn't have had to split up! Or maybe if any of you had HELPED me track Slash down when I said we should-"

"I messed up!" Leo shouted, interrupting Raph. "Is that what you want to hear? Leo, your 'fearless leader' fucked up! I pushed MIkey away, I made things worse! You want to see some kind of emotion from me over this?" Leo advanced on Raph, and the blue-banded turtle saw a slight spark of fear on those green eyes, though Raph didn't back away, holding his ground like he always did.

"Poor Leo, turns out you're not so perfect after all," Raph said, and Leo snapped, shoving his brother as hard as he could.

"You don't know anything! Don't go assuming you know how I feel about this situation!" Leo shoved Raph again, who shoved back this time. "You want me to take the blame for what happened tonight? Fine, it's my fault, you can't blame me more than I blame myself right now."

Raph frowned. "Don't go pulling this emo shit now," he growled in annoyance, "And stop shoving me!" He pushed Leo back just as hard.

"No, you wanted me to take the blame, so this is me taking it, but why don't you man up and take your share of the blame too. I admit what happened to Mikey, and his recent attitude, is my fault, but who's fault is it that Slash was able to attack him in the first place? Who was it that fought SO hard for Slash to be allowed to stay? It certainly wasn't me."

With a yell of rage Raph launched at Leo, the two of them tumbling to the floor as they started shoving at each other, each trying to get the upper hand in their struggle.

No weapons were drawn, all the anger and frustration from the night was coming out in a flurry of punches and scratches, the two turtles rolling around in the pit area hissing and growling at each other. Raph got the upper hand quickly, sitting on top of Leo he pulled his fist back and punched the blue-banded turtle in the mouth.

"Never blame me for what Slash did to Mikey." With that, Raph pushed himself off Leo.

The blue-banded turtle swung his leg out and tripped Raph before he could get more than a step away.

"Neither of us wanted this to happen," Leo said ,sitting up to glare at his brother. "Never accuse me of not caring about any of you." The icy tone in Leo's voice had Raph freezing where he was for a moment, before giving a single nod of understanding.

"What do you plan on doing then?" Raph questioned.

"I am going to meditate. There isn't much we can do during the day. As soon as the sun starts setting, we head out and find our brothers," Leo said.

-x

Donnie groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the light that flooded his vision, making his head throb more painfully. Pushing passed the pain that was threatening to make his head split in two, Donnie attempted to remember what had happened, and where he was at the moment.

"You awake, D?"

The familiar voice of his baby brother had Donnie's eyes snapping open further, twisting his head to locate where Mikey was. The orange-banded turtle wasn't too far away, chained to a wall, his arm and legs stretched out, restricting any movement. He was already sporting a few bruises, and a particularly large one around one of Mikey's wrists.

"Mikey?" Donnie slowly sat up. "Where are we?" he questioned.

"Easy, D, I can't see well from here, but it looks like you got one hell of a bump on your head," Mikey said, his voice hushed.

Donnie went to lift his hand, to touch the back of his head where most of the pain was emanating from, only to find his own hands were chained to the floor. Though his movements weren't as restricted as Mikey's, it did make it impossible for him to check on his own injury. "Uhg," Donnie laid back down on the floor, closing his eyes.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, sounding worried now.

"I'm okay," Donnie reassured his baby brother.

"You won't be."

The new voice surprised Donnie. Looking up quickly, he saw none other than Slash. The large turtle was standing in the doorway leading out of the small room Donnie and Mikey were being held in. Narrowing his eyes, Donnie forced himself to sit up again.

"Slash," he hissed.

Slash however ignored him, turning his attention toward Mikey instead. "Still unconvinced that your brothers have been hunting me?" Slash demanded.

"No one was hunting you!" Mikey said, his head sinking a little further into his shell as Slash advanced on him.

"Slash! Leave him alone!" Donnie shouted, drawing the large turtle's gaze toward him instead. Donnie felt something cold settle into the pit of his stomach, his mind working a million miles a minute, trying to figure out the fastest way to get both him and Mikey out of this situation, preferably unharmed.

"You're in no position to give me orders, Donatello," Slash growled.

"I'm not about to sit here and watch you hurt my little brother!" Donnie said, refusing to flinch away as Slash advanced on him.

"You think you're so smart," Slash said, coming to stand over Donnie, glaring down at him. "You are nothing, weak, the only reason Raphael ever kept you around-

"Raph?" Donnie interrupted, things clicking into place quickly. "That's what this is about, that's why you attacked Mikey before." Slash's only response was a low growl, and Donnie stared up at him. "You want Raph for yourself. You still have your turtle instincts, but they were messed up by the mutagen. You're trying to dominate us… this makes sense now."

"Shut up!" Slash snapped. "I don't want anything to do with you, or your brothers. And neither does Raphael. Once you're all broken, and he can see how worthless you all truly are, he'll understand then," Slash said.

"And how is raping Mikey going to make Raph want to be around you at all? He cares about Mikey, and the rest of us, more than he does you! You've become a monster, you're no longer Spike, and you can't possess Raph the way that you want to." Donnie saw the anger flash in Slash's eyes, seconds before the other turtle swung his large fist out, hitting Donnie hard in the chest.

Being chained to the floor meant that Donnie didn't have anywhere to move. The fist connected and smashed him back down, his head hitting the floor painfully, and the cry of pain seemed to get caught in his throat.

Slash didn't stop at one punch, pulling back he punched Donnie again, all the air being forced from the purple-banded turtle's lungs.

"No! No leave him alone!" Mikey shouted, pulling at his own restraints. "Don't hurt him anymore! Slash!" Mikey cried, pulling harder, but his words never seemed to reach Slash, who continued punching at Donnie.

A loud crack filled the room, followed by a loud painful scream that was pulled from Donnie, the purple clad turtle twisting onto his side to try and get away from the creature that was causing the pain.

"You know nothing about Raphael," Slash hissed, giving Donnie's cracked shell a hard kick, seeming satisfied when it pulled another scream from the olive-green turtle. "You'll see." With that, Slash left the room.

Mikey tried to pull at his restraints again, quietly sobbing as he stared down at Donnie. "I'm sorry, Donnie, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Donnie said weakly, biting his lip as he rolled over so he could look at his baby brother.

"It is, I shouldn't have run off, and he's going to hurt you too, he said he's going to kill everyone," Mikey sniffed.

"It's not your fault, Mikey, and you should know better by now, we don't kill that easily," Donnie said, wanting more than anything to push himself up and go comfort his brother. "Leo and Raph are going to find us, we'll be home soon," Donnie said, hoping his words would bring Mikey enough comfort for now, while they waited for their two older brothers to find them. Donnie just hoped it didn't take to long.

TBC

And that's chapter nine done! I feel like I should apologise for this chapter taking so long to get posted. I had this written back in November, but as a few of my might have heard, I got married recently, so planning the wedding, right after Christmas, things have been a bit crazy! Things should start evening out a bit more and hopefully as the year progresses, I should have more regular updates again ^_^


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, first thank you to Bicky Monster, my wonderful wife for putting up with my nagging to beta read this for me. ^_^

Second, this fic has been nominated for the TMNT Universal Readers Choice awards! Mine will be located under mature, best villian. ^_^ There are some other awsome fics up for nomination this year too. So go check them out! :D

Chapter 10

Being chained to a wall for hours on end was never something Mikey had wanted to experience, and the fact that he had a broken wrist wasn't helping matters. His whole body ached, and at this point the young turtle couldn't tell if it was from his fight with Slash, or because he had been hanging there nearly the whole night. Whatever the reason behind the aches, Mikey wanted it to stop, especially the horrible pressure that kept building in his chest, making it difficult to breathe properly.

Mikey closed his eyes tightly, taking as deep of a breath as he was able, coughing when it stuck somewhere in his chest before actually reaching his lungs. Biting his lip, and letting out a small whine, he tried shifting around, hoping to release some of the pressure building up in his chest, making it difficult to breathe. However, every time he moved, it reminded him how much pain he was in, and that moving in general was probably a bad idea.

A cough from Donnie drew the smaller turtle's attention toward his older brother. Donnie looked like he was at least getting some rest, though it was anything but peaceful. The purple-banded turtle seemed to be having as much trouble as Mikey was in the breathing department, and Mikey would bet anything it was because of that new crack in his plastron.

Mikey wished more than anything that Slash hadn't gone after Donnie, that he had just left the others alone. And really, Mikey knew he was the one to blame for that. If he had kept his mouth shut about Slash's first attack, then Raph wouldn't have gone hunting for his former pet turtle, Slash wouldn't have felt threatened, and they wouldn't have ended up here.

There was a loud noise of metal scraping against metal as the door to the room was pushed open. Mikey closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep; there was no point in looking to see who had come into the room, Mikey already knew it was Slash.

More noise echoed through the nearly empty room as the door was pulled closed again, but the sound of scraping metal didn't stop. Unable to hold his curiosity at bay, Mikey cracked open an eye and looked in the direction of the noise.

Slash had his shell toward Mikey, but that didn't hide what the large turtle was doing. It was hard to miss the massive chains, the likes of which Mikey had only seen on docks before, at Slash's feet, or the fact that he was hammering them into the concrete floor.

"...Mikey?" Donnie whispered and the orange-banded turtled whipped his head back toward his brother, wincing as the sudden movement jarred his poor abused body.

"Shhh." Mikey said, wanting his brother to be quiet, before Slash decided to abandon his current project and turn on them again. Mikey could almost see Donnie's desire to ask questions, though a quick glance in Slash's direction told the purple-banded turtle everything he needed to know in that moment.

Mikey gasped for air as he felt the pressure building in his chest again, and he reluctantly pulled himself up once more. His bruised, swollen and broken wrist protested having to hold so much extra weight, and he had to fight to keep himself from crying out in pain.

"Mikey," Donnie said, looking at his brother worridly, his eyes drifting over the abused form, taking in the new bruises, before his brown eyes settled on Mikey's wrist.

"I'm fine," Mikey gasped as he pulled in a few good breaths before slowly letting himself sag back down. His chest still felt tight, and his arms were still being pulled painfully, but he felt as if he could breathe again, at least for the moment.

"You're not fine," Donnie hissed, shifting around as much as he could. "What are your symptoms?" he demanded, his eyes darting over toward Slash, who was still busy hammering the chains into the floor. If he had noticed his two victims were awake, he was showing no interest in them at the moment.

"I am fine," Mikey insisted. "What about you, dude? You got a pretty big crack in your shell," he said, nodding in Donnie's direction, his eyes focused on the crack that had been added to Donnie's plastron. He couldn't see the damage properly from here, however from the way his brother had been breathing, Mikey could guess it was probably a little worse than it looked.

"This is nothing, it's a bit sore, and will need to be patched up once we're out of here, but stop changing the subject," Donnie said.

"You know, if you keep talking, he's going to come over here," Mikey said, looking away from Donnie over toward Slash. "What do you think he's doing?"

Donnie sighed and looked in the same direction, knowing that he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of Mikey at the moment. "He is currently hammering chains into the floor, that is the extent of my knowledge," Donnie said flatly.

"I was more asking what you thought he might be doing with those chains," Mikey told him, rolling his eyes.

Donnie sighed. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

The two brothers fell silent again. The only sound filling the room was Slash hammering the last few chains into the floor, but that wasn't enough to drown out Mikey's increasingly labored breathing. Donnie watched Mikey worriedly as the younger turtle had to once again pull himself up, taking the pressure off his chest in order to get a few second of proper breathing before his arms gave out again.

This time, Mikey's arms truly did give out, and he was unable to stop the scream as his broken wrist was pulled painfully once more.

This was enough to catch Slash's attention. The snapping turtle stopped what he was doing and stood up straight to look back at Mikey and Donnie. His eyes were whited out and narrowed, making him look like even more of a monster as he dropped the chain with a loud thud, and advanced slowly toward Mikey.

"Leave him alone!" Donnie shouted, pulling at his own chains. "He's already in enough pain!"

Slash ignored Donnie, grabbing hold of Mikey once he was close enough. He lifted the turtle up with one hand and, with the other, ripped the chains holding Mikey straight out of the wall.

Mikey slumped against Slash, so grateful to be able to lower his arms, that it took a moment for his flight or fight instincts to kick in.

Bracing himself for the pain he knew this was going to cause, Mikey twisted his whole body in Slash's hold. Catching the large turtle off guard, Mikey slipped from his grasp and landed on the floor.

Slash roared in rage, moving to grab Mikey, however the orange-banded turtle darted between Slash's legs. Running back toward Donnie.

"No! Get out of here, Mikey! Go get Raph and Leo!" Donnie ordered.

"I'm not-"

"DO IT!" Donnie shouted.

Mikey darted passed Donnie, heading straight for the windows.

"I'll be back for you." Mikey promised as he jumped up onto the window landing, ready to use the chains still attached to his wrists to break the window.

However, the small pause in his escape was enough for Slash to catch up to him. The oversized turtle plowed into Mikey's side, sending the two of them crashing through the window.

Donnie's scream of. "MIKEY!" could be heard echoing out into the alleyway. He pulled frantically at his own restraints, screaming as the metal cut into his wrists cutting through his thick skin. There was no give in his restraints, and Donnie crumpled to the floor breathing heavily for a few moments before he listened intently, trying to hear anything.

A door slammed open somewhere in the building, and Donnie lifted himself up, staring at the large metal door that led outside. "Please be okay, please," Donnie said, tears already falling.

It seemed like an eternity waiting for that door to open, and Donnie's heart leapt into his throat when he saw Slash walk back in, dragging Mikey's prone from behind him.

"Mikey!" Donnie sobbed, seeing his brother being dragged across the floor toward the chains that Slash had been installing before.

The snapping turtle dropped Mikey, and Donnie couldn't put into words how grateful he was to hear the small groan of pain coming from his baby brother. Though he wished Mikey wasn't hurt at all, that small noise was at least enough to confirm to Donnie that his younger brother was, at the very least, alive.

Reassured by the fact that Mikey was still breathing, Donnie looked to Slash, a growl worthy of Raph pushing its way out of his throat. "What do you even want with us?" Donnie demanded. "Haven't you caused enough pain already?"

"No," was Slash's simple answer. Picking up one of the chains he turned back toward Mikey.

Donnie felt like his heart was in his throat once again as he saw the other side of the chain. In the place of where a link should be, there was a large spike with a screw thread.

"... no." Donnie whispered in horror, his blood feeling frozen in his veins as Slash leaned over Mikey's prone form. "No! Don't!" he screamed, unable to do more as Slash positioned the screw, bringing his fist down and hammering the first quarter inch straight into Mikey's shell.

Baby-blue eyes snapped open, the scream echoing through the room as Mikey clawed at the floor, attempting to scramble away from this new form of pain. Donnie sobbed, pulling relentlessly on his own restraints as the chain was physically attached to Mikey's shell.

Mikey's screams and sobs were the only sound that Donnie could hear, and the purple-banded turtle could do nothing to help his brother.

"I'm sorry," Donnie whispered, "I'm so sorry, Mikey."

-x

Raph felt trapped. He was pacing around the lair while Splinter and Leo sat in the dojo and meditated, waiting for the day to finish, until it was dark enough for them to venture topside. Raph, however, didn't care about that; there was only one thing on his mind, getting his missing brothers back. And he couldn't do that while stuck in the sewers.

Raph growled, swinging out, hitting the punching bag in an attempt to let off some of the anger that was building rapidly. Though nothing helped to eliminate the images of Mikey, scared and cowering in his shell after having locked himself in the bathroom.

Slash had done that to Mikey, and Raph felt sick to his stomach thinking that the same might be happening to Donnie at that very moment. Raph's mind was full of 'what ifs', each one worse than the last.

With another angry growl, Raph punched the bag once more, his eyes narrowed, his shoulders tight and his fists clenched.

"Fuck this," he mumbled to himself, looking once more toward the dojo. Leo and Splinter could sit in there all day if they wanted, but Raph was determined to get his brothers back, sooner rather than later.

Certain it wouldn't take his remaining family long to figure out where he had gone, Raph turned, grabbing his sai from where he had left them, jabbed into the back of the couch. He left the lair, knowing exactly where he wanted to start looking first.

The ally where they had found Mikey's t-phone.

Being only two in the afternoon made it extremely difficult for Raph to make it up to the surface unseen, and even more difficult for him to make his way across the city. However, Raph was still a very well trained ninja. He was rash, and most of the time rushed into situations without thinking, but that didn't mean he was completely stupid. He took his time, and chose his moments to jump from rooftop to rooftop, until he reached the building overlooking the alleyway.

Perched up on top of the building, Raph waited for the right opening before dropping down into the deserted space.

The sight of the dried blood still made Raph's stomach turn, even though there was no way to tell if it was Mikey's or not. Raph seriously hoped it was Slash's, that Mikey had put up one hell of a fight before he had been dragged off by that psycho.

Raph couldn't help but smirk at the mental image of his baby brother doing serious damage to the oversized turtle.

Raph slowly circled the alley, looking for any hint of which way his brother had been taken. That's when he spotted it, thanks to the afternoon sun illuminating evidence they had missed the night before.

Droplets of blood were leading toward the second building in the alley, and further up, there were faint claw marks, where Slash had obviously grabbed onto the building.

"Gotcha," Raph declared with a smirk.

Jumping up onto the building, and keeping low so the humans still out and about wouldn't see him, Raph hunted for more droplets of blood. He felt his heart leap inside his chest when he spotted some a few yards away from the edge of the building where he was standing. He didn't give it a second thought as he started following the trail; the only thought in his mind was to locate his brothers, then maybe he would call Leo and Splinter.

Raph tracked the blood trail over several buildings, travelling quickly as he could whilst still not being seen. However, he was so focused on his own task, that he nearly missed the large shadow following him. Nearly.

Raph slowed his pace, making a show of kneeling to check the ground for more specks of blood while he tried to locate where his pursuer was. He was fairly sure that it wasn't Leo, or Splinter; either of them would have made their presence known to him before now.

A soft growl worked it's way from his throat, one hand moving toward his sai, ready to draw his weapon at a moment's notice.

"Slash," he said, standing and turning, his eyes darting around the rooftop.

It appeared to be empty of other than himself, and the usual debris that was found on top of most buildings in the city. But he wasn't fooled; he knew someone was close by and was certain it had to be the other turtle.

"Where are my brothers!" he demanded.

There was no verbal answer, however a noise from behind had Raph spinning around quickly, sai out and ready for a fight.

It took a moment for Raph to register what he was looking at; the noise he had heard had come from the remains of Mikey's kusarigama, the blade tainted with dried blood, and tied to the handle was mask, only splotches of orange still visible through the blood staining it.

"Mikey…"

Raph's throat felt tight, pain and anger boiling under the surface. His feet felt like lead as he moved toward the broken weapon. The blood was dripping down off the tail of the mask, adding another spek of red to the trail that Raph had been following.

"Get out here! Show your fucking face! I want to see it while I ram my sai down your throat!" Raph shouted, his anger taking over as he spun again. He no longer cared if he was seen by the humans; Slash had hurt Mikey, again, and Raph wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"You don't need them anymore, they only hold you back. I am showing you your true potential," Slash said.

Raph turned toward the sound of the voice, only to once again find nothing but air. Another noise behind him and Raph spun again, sai swinging out for an attack. He was losing control of himself, he knew it, however at that moment he couldn't care less. He wanted Slash to feel the pain he was in now, he wanted the other turtle to hurt.

Vision cloudy with rage, Raph struck out blindly at every sound. It was at that moment that Slash made his move, distracting Raph with another pebble thrown. The red-banded turtle's back was to him once again, and Slash struck, his large hand coming down on the back of Raph's neck, hitting the pressure point.

"I'm sorry, my friend," Slash said, gently stroking Raph's shell. "You will thank me for this," he said, reliving Raph of his weapons.

Lifting the now unconscious turtle, Slash made his way back toward his hideout, where he could make his final preparations to the trap he was setting for Leonardo.

-x

Donnie sat on the floor, chained in the same place Slash had left him. His mind was uselessly numb as he stared across the room at the unmoving form of his baby brother.

The dread that had filled him upon seeing Slash drag Mikey's body back through the door had dissipated slightly when Mikey had shown signs of life. But Donnie was still really worried for his brother.

The light green turtle was lying facedown on the floor in a pool of his own blood, the chains Slash had spent the morning hammering into the floor were now secured directly to Mikey's shell, having been screwed in. Donnie was thankful that Mikey had fallen unconscious again after that, most likely passing out from the pain, but his worry was now growing again, the longer Mikey remained where he was.

"Mikey," Donnie called out again, as he had every ten minutes since Slash had left them alone.

There was still no answer from him and Donnie sighed, shifting around to get comfortable as he took the time to once again survey the room, trying to locate anything that could help get him and Mikey out of there.

Slash had been smart, and hadn't left anything useful within Donnie's reach. The room was bare, except for the chains Slash had brought in.

"Something… there has to be something." Donnie said in frustration, pulling on his restraints, grunting as the metal cuffs cut into his wrists again. "Shit," he cursed, slumping back down onto the floor. Slash had obviously put a lot of thought into how he was going to keep them restrained.

Mikey coughed violently from across the room, drawing Donnie's attention. A weak whine of pain soon followed as the smaller turtle shifted, causing the chains screwed into his shell to shift and pull.

"Mikey?"

"...donnie…" Mikey whimpered, his voice soft and full of pain, and Donnie wanted nothing more than to comfort his brother, pull him close and make this nightmare fade away.

"I'm here, Mikey, it's going to be okay, try not to move," Donnie said, knowing that once Mikey did, the chains screwed into his shell would pull and cause unnecessary pain for the younger turtle.

"I didn't make it," Mikey said, sniffing softly.

"You did good, Mikey. It doesn't matter that you didn't make it. Raph and Leo, they'll find us," Donnie assured him. "Just hang in there, Mikey."

"... how's your chest?" Mikey asked, and Donnie blinked in surprise, glancing down at his own chest where the crack was. It was still painful, and if he moved in the wrong way it made it difficult to breathe.

"I'm fine, a quick patch job when we get home, and we'll both be good as new," Donnie said, his throat feeling tight as he looked at Mikey's shell. That was going to take a lot more than just a quick patch job, but he didn't need to draw Mikey's attention to that right now.

"Where did Slash go?" Mikey asked, moving his arms so he could push himself up and look around.

"Mikey, don't move," Donnie warned again, even though it was technically too late. Mikey had already crashed back to the floor, screaming loudly as the chains shifted, pulling painfully against his shell.

"Slash… he chained you to the floor," Donnie said, swallowing around the lump that had formed in his throat, his own tears falling down his cheeks as he watched Mikey lay there, quietly sobbing.

Each one of them had injured their shells at one point or another during their lives, but the worst that had ever been done was perhaps an accident with Leo's katana and Raph's shell; and even that had been a scratch compared to having spikes screwed into the bone.

"Why is he doing this?" Mikey cried.

Donnie wished he could answer that, wished he could find some kind of logic behind all this. But as far as Donnie could tell, there was nothing; the only motivation to what Slash was doing was to isolate Raphael.

"I don't know," Donnie admitted, the weight of those words sitting heavily on his chest. He felt like a failure, having to tell his youngest brother that he didn't know the answer, that he didn't know how to get them out of there. "I'm sorry, Mikey," he said, pulling on his own restraints, already knowing there would be no more give in them.

A noise from the alleyway outside had both Mikey and Donnie stiffening, chains rattling as Mikey shifted to see the door more easily. From the heavy footsteps, Donnie knew it was Slash, however it sounded like he was dragging something else with him. He silently hoped that it wasn't more chains.

Mikey cried out when he tried to move again, attempting to pull himself into his shell, however every move he made just caused the chains in his back to shift.

"Mikey, stop moving, you're just going to do more damage to your shell," Donnie said, hoping his brother would at least try and listen to him. Though Donnie wasn't sure how much of what he was saying was getting through to his younger brother, as Mikey's eyes were fixed on the door, a look of fear frozen on his face as he waited for Slash to comeback into the room.

A door opened and Donnie quickly turned to look at the large metal sliding door to their room. But it wasn't that door that had been opened. Donnie breathed a sigh of relief that Slash was occupied with something else for the time being. Fixing his gaze back on Mikey, he spoke.

"Mikey, try to lay still, okay? I know it hurts, but it will hurt less if you don't move right now." Donnie explained. "Can you do that for me?"

"I want to go home," Mikey said, eyes shifting away from the door to stare at Donnie instead.

"I know, and we will go home, I promise," Donnie said. He was sure Mikey could tell it was an empty promise, but he smiled weakly at him nonetheless.

"Okay, I trust you, D," Mikey said.

-x

Raph groaned as he came too, shaking his head to try and get rid of the foggy feeling invading his brain.

"What the hell hit me?" he asked, pushing himself up off the ground. and blinking, letting things slowly come back into focus.

The first thing he noticed, was that his weapons were missing, along with his t-phone. The second, was that he was in a cage, which appeared the be bolted to the floor. The third thing he became aware of was that someone was sitting just outside the cage, watching him.

"Good, you're awake, I was getting worried. I didn't mean to hit you so hard," Slash said.

Raph's head snapped up. Green eyes narrowed to slits, white dropping over his eyes as he glared at the turtle sitting outside the cage he was in.

"You," Raph growled, his voice full of pure hatred.

"It's good to see you too, Raph," Slash said, looking truly happy to be sitting there with the red-banded turtle. "You don't look to good though," he observed.

"Who's fault is that, I wonder?" Raph growled. "You took my little brothers, knocked me unconscious, and put me in a cage."

"Your brothers got what they deserved," Slash said, an evil smirk spreading across his face.

"I'll kill you!"

"You really have been poisoned," Slash said sadly. "Don't worry, I'll fix everything."

Raph dove at the bars on the cage, pulling at them. "Let me go! " he ordered.

"I can't do that, not until you're better," Slash said. Standing from his seat, he walked around the cage. Raph following him, reaching through the bars in an attempt to grab the other turtle as he walked close. "Once I take care of the ones who have poisoned you."

"Where are Mikey and Donnie? What have you done with them?" Raph demanded.

"They're still alive."

Raph didn't like the way Slash had said that, and he felt like something icy cold had just dropped into his stomach. "Where are they?" he demanded again.

"I can't let you see them. Your mind is already poisoned enough," Slash said.

"What the fuck are you talkin' about!?" Raph growled. "My mind ain't been poisoned!"

"It has," Slash snapped. "Michelangelo; he turned you against me."

"No, you did that when you RAPED him!" Raph shouted.

Slash growled, turning to glare at Raph. "I was teaching him a lesson for hurting you!"

"That is sick, and seriously fucked up," Raph hissed, looking disgusted with what he was being told.

"We shall see," Slash said, walking passed the cage again. He dropping a plate of food and a cup of water by the cage quickly, dodging Raph when the other turtle made a grab for him, before moving to the door on the other side of the room. "I'll be back in a little while. I have a few things that I need to take care of."

"Slash!" Raph roared, backing up and charging at the cage, trying to get it to budge.

Slash closed the door behind him, sighing when he heard Raph beating on the cage, trying to get free. Ignoring that noise for now, he made his way to the second room across the hall, sliding the door open and looking in at the two captive turtles.

Mikey was looking at him with pure terror; all Slash had to do was look in his direction and the smaller turtle would try and cower in his shell. However, with the chains screwed into his carapace, it made it extremely painful to hide.

Then there was Donnie, the too-smart-for-his-own-good turtle, the one who was looking around, calculating multiple ways that he could escape. Slash knew he was no match for a mind like that, so he had removed everything he could from the room, leaving Donnie nothing to work with. However Slash knew that eventually, he would find a way to get free.

"I have another guest here," Slash said, as he closed the door behind him, walking toward Donnie.

"I heard," Donnie said, narrowing his eyes at Slash. "You're not going to win, whatever you're trying to do."

"Don't you see, Donatello, I've already won," Slash said, his large hand darting out and grabbing Donnie around the neck, squeezing tightly. "Once I have drained the poison out of him, he will be happy that I have freed him."

"You haven't won, that's why you haven't killed us yet," Donnie said. "Raph is never going to forgive you for this, and you know it, that's why you can't kill us."

"Watch me," Slash hissed, squeezing his hand tighter around Donnie's neck, slowly cutting off the air supply.

Donnie's eyes widened, taking a deep breath before the hand squeezed and no more air could pass through. Being a turtle meant that he was able to hold his breath for a very long time, however, even he had his limits.

"Leave him alone!" Mikey cried out, pushing himself up slowly.

Donnie continued staring definitely at Slash, holding his breath, even as the larger turtle squeezed his neck harder. Donnie knew he was going to have bruises there later, but this was the only way he could fight back at the moment.

Slash roared in rage, shoving Donnie down onto the floor, leaning over him and pinning him down.

"You will not win!" Donnie said again.

"Let him go!" Mikey yelled again, a cry of pain escaping him as he managed to pick something up and throw it at Slash. The chain's in his back ripped at his shell painfully, and Mikey crumpled to the floor, biting his lip hard as he rode out the wave of pain.

Slash was off Donnie, turning toward Mikey before Donnie could even blink. However, years of ninja training, and a fast brain, had Donnie reacting quickly too. Before he had even processed the thought completely, he swung his legs out, catching one of Slash's.

The large turtle slammed hard into the floor.

Both Mikey and Donnie watched Slash, the large turtle breathing heavily as he pushed himself back to his feet and turned his glare on Donnie once more. He said nothing as he stepped closer to Donnie. Lifting his foot, he stomped down on Donnie's chest, reaching down and pulling the chains tighter so that Donnie was now fully pinned to the floor.

"Let the lesson begin," Slash growled, his voice low and angry.

Donnie's heart was hammering in his chest at those words, and all he could do was watch as Slash lifted his foot, removing the pressure from Donnie's plastron, before slamming it down on the prone turtle's knee. The sicking 'crack' was drown out by Donnie's high pitched scream.

And Slash did nothing but stand there and smirk down as Donnie screamed, pulling at his restraints, trying to curl up and protect himself from any further attack.

"No! No leave him alone! Please!" Mikey cried from where he was on the floor behind Slash.

"This is your fault," Slash said, looking over his shoulder toward Mikey. "If you hadn't hurt Raph, I wouldn't have to teach any of you these lessons," he said, turning back toward Donnie, pressing his foot down on the broken leg.

The scream he pulled from Donnie brought another smirk to Slash's face.

"All of you will pay for hurting Raphael."

-x

Leo would be lying if he said that he couldn't believe Raph had snuck out on his own, but that didn't mean he was happy his brother had left. However, any anger he might have felt toward Raph was overshadowed by worry, due to the fact that his brother wasn't answering his phone.

Leo tried the t-phone once more, though was unsurprised when once again there was no answer. Putting the device back into his belt, he turned to look at Splinter. The large rat was kneeling on the ground, his fingers lightly brushing against the side of the roof they were currently standing on.

"Slash has left a trail for us to follow," Splinter said, and his own eyes narrowed as he lifted his head and sniffed the air lightly.

"He's setting a trap for us," Leo said knowingly.

He and Raph had searched out this way the night before, and they hadn't spotted a single thing, no clues as to which way Slash had gone. And tonight, there seemed to be a very obvious trail, leading in one direction.

"Us knowing it is a trap does not give us the advantage," Splinter said. "We must tread cautiously."

Leo nodded, looking down at the half a footprint that was visible on the roof. They had been following the same prints and drops of blood for nearly half an hour; they were getting close to the docks and Leo was fairly sure that was where they would find his missing brothers.

TBC

I have already been told by my lovely wife that this is a horrible place to leave it! But I have already started on the next and final chapter! :D Everything is coming to a close! I am hoping that if I can get a couple good writing sessions done, that I MAY have the final chapter within a week. But I am not making any promises, because I know how this goes.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Raphael knew he was going to be horribly bruised if he continued on the way he was, but that was so far down his priority list he truly just didn't care. Getting out of the cage Slash had put him in came first, finding Mikey and Donnie second, and finally, locating Slash and ripping him from his shell.

Letting out another yell, Raph slammed himself into the side of the cage; the bars still held strong, just as they had the last few hours. However, Raph was certain he had felt the cage shift that time. Backing up as far as the small cage would allow, Raph plowed into the bars again, crying out in pain when he felt something in his shoulder shift that he was fairly sure wasn't supposed to move.

"FUCK!" Raph kicked at the bars, stumbling back and slumping down on the floor, one hand on his shoulder as it throbbed.

He couldn't stop for long, even if he wanted to rest for more than a few minutes. The faint sound of sobbing he could hear would soon spur him into action once again, but before it could the door to the room opened. Raph turned his attention toward Slash, glaring at the snapping turtle as he brought in what appeared to be a tray of food.

"Slash," Raph snapped, and the large turtle looked at him. "Let me go," he demanded.

Slash sighed. "I can't do that, Raphael," he said, looking almost upset about it. "I brought you some food," he told him, coming over and standing next to the cage, frowning down at Raph. "You hurt your shoulder."

"Why the fuck do you care?" Raph hissed angrily.

"I know it doesn't seem it right now, but I am doing this to help you. You deserve better than what you've been stuck with," Slash said.

"I ain't been 'stuck' with nothin!" Raph stood up so he could be closer to eye level with Slash, silently daring the larger turtle to come a little closer.

"Your family, they've been holding your potential back for far too long. I'm giving you a way out, destroying the poison they've been feeding you for years," Slash said, almost pleading with Raph to understand why he was doing this.

"Except I don't want any of this! Ya think I want to sit here listening to ya doin' fuck knows what ta my brothers?" Raph stared at the snapping turtle, and thought for a moment he saw something flash across his face, before it was hidden with that near uncontrollable anger again.

"No, I'm doing the right thing," Slash said, setting the food down and pushing it toward Raph. "Eat. I've got things to do," Slash said, turning to leave Raph alone again.

Raph darted forward, reaching through the cage for the tray of food, picking it up and throwing it at the back of Slash's head. The other turtle stopped, and slowly turned back toward Raph. The two of them stood there glaring at each other.

"Why can't you just see I'm doing this to help you?" Slash questioned. "You're the one making this more difficult. The more you fight my help, the more I have to hurt your family."

"Are ya even listenin' ta yourself?" Raph asked. "Nothin' you're sayin' is makin' any sense! You're tellin' me that I have to choose between my family, and… whatever the fuck you're offering. But you're not gettin' it, I don't give a shit about what you're tryin' ta do. Family ALWAYS comes first!" Raph stood there, panting after his rant, eyes still narrowed at Slash.

"You're delusional, they have poisoned you-"

"Stop saying that!" Raph shouted.

"You can do better than them," Slash said, trying to reason with Raph. But there was no way the red-banded turtle was going to even consider what his former pet was saying.

"No, I can't," Raph replied.

Slash growled, a low deep rumble. "Fine, I will prove you can do better." he said and turned to leave the room once again.

"No! Leave my brothers alone! SLASH!"

Raph stared in horror as Slash left the room, leaving the door open this time and Raph could easily see the door to a second room across the hall. Slash opened that door too and strode inside, leaving it open behind him. Raph couldn't see anyone in the room, but he could hear his brothers, and the frightened noises they made when Slash walked back into the room.

"Donnie! Mikey!" Raph called.

"Raph?" Donnie's voice replied.

Raph was so relieved to hear it, though that relief only lasted a moment because Donnie suddenly screamed, only for the the sound to be suddenly cut off.

"SLASH! YOU FUCKER! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Raph raged.

The throbbing in his shoulder forgotten, Raph backed up and slammed himself bodily into the side of the cage with all his might. He cried out, not only in pain, but also in frustration as it held.

He did it again, backing up and then charging across the cage with all the force he could muster, and still the cage held, though this time he was convinced he felt it shift. He could hear sobs coming from the other room, and he could have sworn he heard choking sounds, though he wasn't sure how much he was imaging. It didn't matter though, as he repeatedly threw himself across the cage, crying out with fury each time his body pushed against the bars

He could feel it shifting just slightly more each time he charged it and a quick glance behind him showed the bolts holding the cage to the floor were finally coming loose.

"No! No leave me alone, don't please don't!"

Mikey's frantic voice could be heard from the other room, and Raph screamed in rage as he slammed into the side of the cage once more. For a fraction of a second he was surprised to feel it come loose, before the whole cage toppled over with a loud crash.

Raph wasted no time in crawling out of the cage, jumping to his feet and running as fast as he could to the door, just as Slash was coming back to investigate the sound. Raph only barely registered the blood on Slash's hands before he slammed bodily into the larger turtle, knocking him to the floor.

"YOU FUCKING FUCKER!" Raph shouted, bringing his fist down to connect with Slash's head.

Rage like he had never felt before was taking him over, one punch after another connecting with Slash's head.

Slash let out his own roar of rage, twisting so that Raph's next punch missed, and he threw the red-banded turtle off him, sending Raph flying down the hall.

-x

Leo could hear the familiar sounds of fighting before he and Splinter even reached the building. The angry, animalistic screech that Leo could only assume belonged to Slash echoed around them, and Raph's familiar battle cry soon followed.

Leo let out a growl of his own, running the length of the building he and Splinter were on, and jumping the final gap. He rolled when he landed, but was back on his feet immediately. He had already chosen his point of entry; there was a single skylight located on the roof, and Leo darted forward. He was only vaguely aware of Splinter by his side as he crashed through the glass.

He landed in a crouching position, katana held ready to strike. But Slash wasn't in the room. Instead, Leo's eyes fell on the prone form of Donnie; the olive green turtle was laying sprawled on the floor, held down by thick chains.

"Leo!" Donnie cried out, his voice full of relief at seeing his eldest brother.

"Leo, help your brother," Splinter ordered, and the rat quickly made his way out of the room, heading in the direction of the fighting they could hear.

Leo didn't have to be told twice, hurrying over to Donnie.

"Don't move," Leo said, using his katana to break the chains, deciding they could deal with the actual cuffs later.

Sheathing his katana, Leo knelt down to help Donnie sit up. The purple-banded turtle smothered a wince of pain and Leo hesitated, getting a closer look at the purple-banded turtle's injuries; namely the leg that looked to be bending slightly in the wrong direction, and the vivid bruises around Donnie's neck.

"Don, are you-?"

"I'm fine," Donnie interrupted, grabbing onto Leo. "We need to help Mikey." he said, his eyes glued to the form that was laying quiet and unmoving across the room.

Leo turned to look in the same direction; what he saw made his stomach turn, and anger like he had never felt before spike inside him. Leo hardly registered that he was growling, until Donnie placed a hand on his arm, pulling at him urgently.

"Leo, you have to help me up," Donnie said determinedly, pulling at his older brother in an attempt to get himself up to his feet. "I need to check on Mikey before we move him."

"No, we need to wrap your leg before you move," Leo insisted.

"I do not have time to argue with you, Leo!" Donnie snapped, already struggling to stand, despite the pain.

His leg was hanging awkwardly though and the purple-banded turtle muffled a surprised scream as the foot of his injured leg brushed the ground, pulling at the injury. Leo was torn, but knew Donnie was right; they didn't have time to bicker about what damage would be done to Donnie's leg, but he also hated causing his brother even more pain.

Leo held tightly onto his younger brother, before he swiftly picked him up off the ground. Donnie cried out then, holding onto Leo as his leg was jarred painfully, but he pushed past the pain; he couldn't let that get to him right now, not when Mikey needed him. And he made no complaint as Leo carried him quickly and carefully across the room.

"Set me down," Donnie ordered once they were close to Mikey.

Leo knelt down, placing Donnie on the floor next to their youngest brother. Donnie breathed deeply, riding out the pain shooting up his leg before he was able to shift again. As soon as he was able, Donnie leant over Mikey and started to examine the extent of the damage.

Leo watched with wide eyes as Donnie gently started prodding at their brother, looking at the two spikes stuck into Mikey's shell first, before moving to inspect the bound wrists. Mikey didn't move once, and Leo couldn't hold back the rising panic that they were too late.

"Donnie, is he…"

"Unconscious," Donnie reassured his eldest brother. "Slash hit him in the head pretty hard not too long ago," he said; his voice was hoarse as he attempted to shift and move one of the spikes.

Mikey cried out suddenly, pulling away from Donnie in an attempt to get away from the pain. Leo moved quickly, grabbing onto him, stopping Mikey from moving before he hurt himself even more. Mikey struggled against Leo, crying harder, soft whimpering noises escaping him.

A loud roar from outside the room drew Leo's attention for a moment, before he looked back down at Mikey.

"What do we do, Donnie?" Leo asked.

"We have to get the spikes out of his shell, but I don't know how deep they are, and we could cause more damage if we try and force them out…" Donnie said, sounding distressed and anxious, visibly flinching when Slash let out another angry noise from somewhere nearby.

"Okay, what do we need?" Leo asked.

"I… I don't…" Donnie stammered, and Leo looked at him, reaching out and putting his hand on Donnie's shoulder.

"Donnie, what do we need?" Leo repeated.

Donnie took a deep breath and nodded, trying not to move as he looked back down at Mikey. "I need to make sure that he's not going to bleed out, if we remove the spikes now," Donnie said, "and I need you to hold him while I do this."

Leo nodded, gripping Mikey and pinning him down he gave Donnie a nod. The purple-banded turtle leaned forward, his leg shifting painfully, and he gasped, nearly falling over.

"I can't… I can't do this here." Donnie said through clenched teeth.

"Then we'll get him home first," Leo said.

There was a loud crash, and a moment later Slash came flying through the door into the room, landing on the floor and rolling painfully into a pillar. Leo was on his feet, katana in hand before Donnie could even blink.

Slash, slowly shook his head, pulling himself into a sitting position; he didn't even seem to register that Leo was in the room. Slash just lifted his head and stared at the door he had been thrown through.

Leo glanced toward the door when he saw movement.

Splinter walked into the room, his own eyes narrowed as he looked at Slash. Leo felt his heart hammering in his chest as he watched their father; he had only seen that look of anger on Splinter's face once before, when he had been under the control of the rat king.

"Slash," Splinter spoke, coming to stand in front of the large snapping turtle.

Slash looked up at Splinter, but said nothing. The two of them stared at each other, and Leo was practically holding his breath, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

"I will only give you this one warning," Splinter said. "Never come near my family again."

"What!?" Raph raged from the doorway.

"Sensei?" Leo frowned in confusion.

"You're not going to kill me?" Slash questioned, sounding as confused as Leo felt.

"No," Splinter said. "I too have suffered through the rage that a mutation brings. It is not an easy thing to control, or break away from. I had thought, by giving you training, I could have prevented this, but your rage, and possessive nature, are beyond my ability to help."

Slash frowned, staring up at Splinter, still looking defiant, his finsts clenched and Splinter readied himself to continue the fight. However, the snapping turtle glanced toward the side, catching sight of Raph standing in the doorway. There was a look of pure rage and hatred in those green eyes, a silent challenge for Slash to continue fighting, and a warning that if he did, he would not survive. Looking back toward Splinter, Slash let out a rumbling growl, before slumping back against the pillar he had been thrown against.

Splinter raised an eyebrow as Slash lowered his head in submission, accepting his defeat. Unwilling to look away from Slash just yet, Splinter spoke, addressing his two eldest sons.

"Let's get your bothers home," he said.

Leo nodded his agreement, turning back around. "Raph, come help me with Mikey," he called over to his hot headed brother.

Raph growled, sending one more glare toward Slash before he hurried over to where his family was standing. Raph came to a sudden stop when he saw the state of his two younger brothers, A new burst of anger flared in him and Raph rounded on Slash, ready to go after the other turtle and kill him himself, only to find Slash gone.

"Sensei!" Raph snapped, turning his angry glare toward their father. "How can ya just let him go like that!?" he demanded.

"Because at this moment, your brothers are more important than revenge." Splinter said, kneeling down and placing his hand on the back of Mikey's shell. "Now, Raphael, come hold your brother, while Leo and I remove these from his shell."

"Be careful, I don't know how deep in they go," Donnie warned. "If he starts bleeding again, we'll have to find a way to remove the chains, but leave the spikes."

"We will be careful," Leo promised, looking at Raph when the red-banded turtle knelt down by Mikey's head, gently placing his hands on Mikey's shoulders. His eyes were wide as he stared at the damage done to their baby brother.

Splinter and Leo knelt on either side of Mikey, each of them grabbing one of the spikes. "We will do this as quickly as possible." Splinter said.

"They should screw out, so try not to pull to much or you might cause more damage than is necessary," Donnie instructed, watching his father and eldest brother closely. He would have much rather been back at his lab doing this, where he knew they had things that could help Mikey with the pain, but Donnie couldn't think of any other way to free the small turtle.

The first turn of the spikes had Mikey jerking so violently that Raph nearly lost his grip on the smaller turtle, the scream that followed caused all four of them to flinch, knowing they were going to have to cause Mikey even more pain.

The second and third turns brought more screams, and sobs as Mikey was pulled back to consciousness.

"No! No please! Please stop!" Mikey sobbed, struggling weakly against Raph.

"I know it hurts," Raph said, his voice rough, and Leo knew that their red-banded brother was holding back his own tears. None of them wanted to be causing Mikey more pain, though all of them knew this had to be done. "Just hold on, Mikey, they're almost done." Raph said, trying to comfort his sobbing brother.

"Please," Mikey begged.

Another scream was pulled from him when Splinter removed one of the spikes; Leo pulled his spike free a moment later, and blood was bubbling up from the two wounds.

"We have to stop the bleeding!" Donnie said, even as Splinter was already removing his robe, using his claws and teeth to rip it into strips before quickly bandaging Mikey's shell, covering the two holes that were slowly bleeding. Donnie was just relieved that they weren't bleeding as much as he had expected them to.

The purple-banded turtle closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Gentle hands on his shoulders had Donnie jerking upright, hissing out a curse as the movement sent a jolt of pain through his leg.

"Easy, Don," Leo said. "I'm going to find something to use as a brace. Think you'll be okay for another moment?"

Donnie nodded. "Yes, I'm in no danger of passing out just yet." His smile was forced, but then again, so was Leo's, as the blue-banded turtle stood up and went to find something they could use to keep Donnie's leg from moving while they made their way back down to the sewers.

Donnie watched Leo leave the room, before turning back toward his family. Splinter was kneeling next to Mikey, gently stroking his son's head, easing him into sleep.

It was almost hard to believe that they had only been held captive by Slash for just under twenty-four hours. Donnie shuddered to think about how much more damage would have been inflicted on them, had their family not found them so quickly.

"You doin' okay, Don?" Raph asked, and Donnie turned his attention toward his red-banded brother.

"I've… been better." Donnie admitted. "I'll survive though," he assured him.

Raph frowned, leaning forward, his fingers brushing over Donnie's neck. Donnie jerked back eyes going wide, cursing as pain shot through his leg from the movement.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Donnie," Raph apologized.

"No, it's okay, I'm okay," Donnie said, his hand on his own neck, covering the bruise he knew was forming there. "You just startled me."

Raph was giving Donnie a skeptical look, but let it slide for now. They had more important things than Donnie's lying to worry about.

Donnie ignored his brother's worry, turning instead to watch the door until Leo came back with two planks of wood that would work as a temporary brace. The blue-banded turtle knelt down next to Donnie, setting the wood down on either side of Donnie's leg.

"We have to set the bone," Leo said, even though Donnie knew that already; the purple-banded turtle appreciated his brother's concern.

"Just give me something to bite down on and do it." Donnie said, making a face when Raph offered the handle of his sai. Taking a deep breath, Donnie nodded his head and braced himself, biting down on the offered handle.

With a 'snap' that was mostly drowned out by Donnie's scream, his leg was set, and Leo held the two pieces of wood in place to keep Donnie's leg from moving, while Raph wrapped it, using the leftover shreds of Splinter's robe. Donnie breathed deeply, his teeth still clenching down on the handle of Raph's weapon as the pain in his leg slowly died down to a painful throb.

Donnie was aware of Splinter watching them, giving Donnie time to compose himself before speaking. "We will go home, once you are able to move."

Donnie shook his head. "No, we can go now," he insisted, handing Raph his sai back, before putting his hand on Leo's shoulder. He had intended to use his brother as leverage to pull himself up, however, Leo shifted quickly, wrapping an arm around Donnie's waist, making it easier for the purple-banded turtle to stand.

"I really just want to go home now," Donnie told them. "I want to also get a better look at Mikey's shell, and see the damage so I can start making a plan for how to patch him up."

"While I admire your determination to help your brother," Splinter said, looking Donnie over for a moment before continuing, "your health and safety are just as important."

"I'm fine," Donnie insisted, leaning heavily against Leo.

"We'll argue about that later," Raph said, turning toward Splinter and Mikey, helping their father with the youngest member of the family.

"I'll carry him," Raph said.

With the help of Splinter, they managed to get Mikey onto the red-banded turtle's back. Raph attempted to carefully shift Mikey, so that he had a better hold on the younger turtle, ignoring the painful throbbing in his own shoulder.

"Easy with him, Raph," Donnie said.

"I ain't gonna drop him," Raph snapped through gritted teeth, and Donnie frowned, but made no comment on his brother's temper.

They fell silent, and Splinter took the lead as they left the building, keeping to the shadowed back alleyways, until they were closer to home and could move underground without causing more pain to the already injured turtles.

-x

Mikey struggled to remain in the warm and comforting dream he'd been having, he wasn't ready to face the harsh truth of reality again, not just yet. However that insistant voice kept prodding at him, coaxing him further out of his dream.

"Please," Mikey whined, shrinking in on himself a little more. The small movement sent an unpleasant throb of pain down his back.

"Shh, easy," the voice said, and a hand rested gently on Mikey's head.

Mikey's face scrunched up in confusion, and he slowly blinked open his eyes.

"Hey, you actually with us this time?" Raph asked from where he was sitting, next to the cot Mikey was currently laying on.

Mikey's frown deepened, and he glanced around the room, before his eyes settled back on his brother. "Raph?"

The red-banded turtle nodded. "Yeah, it's me. How are you feelin', buddy?"

Mikey frowned, putting some thought into that question as he shifted around a little, as if testing how much pain he was currently in. "I've… been better," he admitted. "Though, I've felt worse too. My head feels a bit funny though, kinda like a balloon."

"That's probably the morphine," Donnie's voice answered, and Mikey's eyes went wide as he attempted to locate his nerdy brother.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, trying to push himself up so he could see around Raph, letting out a distressed noise when Raph moved and stopped him from getting up.

"Don's right there," Raph said, pointing over his shoulder toward where Donnie was sitting at his computer, the purple-banded turtle having turned around quickly upon hearing Mikey's whine.

"You're okay?" Mikey asked; baby-blue eyes were wide as he stared at Donnie.

"I'm fine," Donnie said. "A minor crack in my plastron, and a broken leg," he said, smiling when Mikey reached a hand out for him. Donnie turned away from Mikey just long enough to grab the two crutches that were leaning against the desk, before standing and making his way over toward the cot.

Raph vacated his seat, allowing Donnie to sit down. "I'm gonna go tell Leo and Splinter that Mikey's actually awake this time."

Donnie nodded and waited until Raph left before he spoke to Mikey. "So, how are you feeling, really?"

"I really do feel fine, dude," Mikey insisted. "My head is all fuzzy though. I don't think I like that at. And my back feels a bit tingly. Is that from the Morphing stuff too?"

"No, I think that might be because of the injury to your shell." Donnie frowned, shifting slightly he poked at Mikey's leg, letting out a small sigh of relief when Mikey giggled.

"Dude, that tickles!" Mikey protested.

"Sorry, I wanted to check and make sure you still had feeling in your legs," Donnie explained leaned back in the chair. "I hadn't thought the damage was deep enough to paralyze you, but I'll do a more extensive check later, when I'm able to move around more freely, or have some help."

Mikey's smile faded, and he stared at Donnie. "So… what happened?"

"What do you remember?" Donnie asked.

Mikey shook his head. "I don't remember much after that punch to the head," he admitted. "Was Raph really there too?"

Donnie nodded. "He was. Slash apparently had him in the other room, locked in a cage that was bolted to the floor."

"And what happened to…?" Mikey trailed off, not sure he really wanted to know what had happened to Slash, because while part of him would have been happy to hear that someone had killed the monster, Mikey wasn't sure if he wanted to be the reason behind the his death.

"Father let him go," Donnie said, and Mikey blinked at his brother in surprise as he let that information sink in.

"Oh," was the only response Mikey could even muster up.

"Are you okay?" Donnie asked and Mikey had to think about that for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine, D," Mikey said, shooting his brother a wide smile. "So, when do you think I'll be able to get off this cot? My fingers are itching to play some video games, maybe see if I can get Raph to wait on me hand and foot while I'm recovering."

Mikey babbled on, and the only thing Donnie could do was sit there and stare at his younger brother.

"Oh! This means no more training for a while too doesn't it? I wonder if that means I don't have to meditate… or maybe master Splinter will make me meditate more because I can't do any of the physical stuff…"

"Mikey, stop," Donnie said, unable to take Mikey's happy-go-lucky attitude. The orange-banded turtle stopped talking and blinked at Donnie, his smile slowly fading again.

"Just stop it," Donnie said again. "Stop pretending you're fine, stop pretending that nothing bad has happened! Just…. just stop!"

Mikey wasn't sure what he had done to upset his brother. He reached out to put a hand on Donnie's leg, only to have the purple-banded turtle jerk away from him, grabbing his crutches and standing up.

"I have work to get done," he stated flatly, turning to go back to his desk.

"Donnie, wait," Mikey called out, pushing himself up, gritting his teeth against the aches he could still feel through the morphine. "I'm sorry, D, please, I'm sorry."

Donnie turned back toward his brother. "You shouldn't be getting up yet," he said, but Mikey ignored him; managing to get himself into a sitting position he looked up at Donnie with his wide baby-blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," Mikey said again. "I just, I can't do this, I can't… it's best for me if I just forget about Slash, about what he did and…"

"What you're doing is not forgetting, you're just flat out ignoring it," Donnie accused. "Even before this incident with Slash, you were ignoring your problems then too…"

"So what if I was?" Mikey challenged.

Donnie never got a chance to respond though, as the door to his lab opened again, and the rest of their family came in.

"Mikey! What are ya doin' sittin' up like that?" Raph demanded, hurrying over to try and lay his brother back down.

"It's totally fine, dude, I just needed to stretch as much as I possibly could. Donnie was supervising me so I don't injure myself," Mikey pointed out.

Raph looked at Donnie, who shrugged. "Yes, well, that's enough for one day, time for some more rest," Donnie said flatly, turning his back on Mikey again and returning to his computer.

A look of hurt flashed over Mikey's face, however he hid it quickly as Splinter came over and stood next to him.

"I am very happy to see you awake, and coherent, my son," he said, placing a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder. And if the younger turtle flinched at the touch, no one noticed, or at least drew attention to the involuntary reflex. No one else commented on Mikey's fake smile, or his forced jokes, or the way his eyes kept drifting over to look at Leo, who was standing in the doorway to the lab, refusing to come in any further.

-x

It was never easy to admit your mistakes; Leo had learned this lesson at a very young age. However, he had not expected that the older he got, the harder it would become to admit such a failure, especially when those mistakes involved his family.

Four days had passed since their last encounter with Slash, and Leo had done his best to keep his distance from his healing brothers. There really was nothing he could say to help in their recovery, after all. He wasn't avoiding them though; at least, that's what Leo told himself as he lay on his bed staring at his ceiling, listening to the quiet sounds of the Lair.

Even with his door closed he could still hear Raphael snoring, the soft noises Mikey made in his sleep, and, when he listened hard enough, Leo was sure he could hear Donnie tinkering around in his lab. Everything sounded so normal.

However, the atmosphere in the Lair was heavy, like an ever increasing pressure upon them all. Leo felt it was going to crush him and his family, if he let things continue as they were.

The scream that suddenly shattered the quiet wasn't unexpected, but still had Leo bolting upright in his bed, staring at his door with wide eyes; Mikey had had another nightmare.

He heard Raph's door slam open, his brother hurrying to Mikey's always-locked-door, and the hard pounding of Raph trying to get in. Leo closed his eyes for a moment before slowly standing from his bed.

"Mikey, it's me, open the door," he heard Raph demanded, pounding on the door once more.

Going to his own door, Leo opened it just enough to look out at what was becoming a familiar scene. Raph moved to knock on the door again, but Splinter was there, resting a hand on Raph's shoulder, gently easing him back from the door.

"It is alright, my son, no one is going to hurt you. Please, let us in," Splinter said.

Leo continued to watch, waiting until he heard the small 'click' of the lock as Mikey opened the door. He couldn't see his youngest brother from where he was stood, but he knew Mikey would be staring up at their father, with tears still streaming down his face, Leo was assuming, given the sobs he could hear. Splinter said nothing as he gently wrapped his arms around Mikey, easily calming the hysterical turtle before leading Mikey away from his room. Leo knew they would sleep in the dojo once again tonight.

Raph moved to follow them, only to pause and glance over toward Leo.

Leo felt frozen to the spot as their eyes met, not wanting to hear all the ways this was his fault. He knew that well enough for himself without any reminder. Green eyes narrowed, but Raph didn't say anything, he just turned and walked away, following their father and youngest brother.

There was no fight, no argument, and for Leo, that was a lot worse than his brother constantly trying to start something with him. This felt like Raph's silent way of saying 'you're not worth it anymore'.

Leo had to agree with him; he wasn't worth it. He was the one who had failed his family. After all, even if it was originally Raph's fault that Slash had been allowed to stay in the Lair, it was his fault for pushing Mikey away.

Turning away from the door, Leo looked back toward his bed. He felt exhausted, however, if tonight followed the same pattern as the previous ones, he would just be lying there until the morning and only just have fallen asleep when he was woken for morning practice.

Deciding that if he was going to have another sleepless night anyway, he would at least try and make himself useful, Leo left his room. Heading out into the main part of the Lair, he could hear the soft noises coming from the dojo while Splinter got Mikey back to sleep. However, it was the crash and the muffled curses from Donnie's lab that drew Leo's attention.

Taking the few steps toward the metal door, Leo raised his hand and knocked softly. He heard another curse and frowned.

"Donnie?" he called through the door, grabbing the handle and sliding the door open enough that he could look in, only to find his brother on the floor. "Donnie!" he exclaimed, hurrying across the room and kneeling next to his fallen brother.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Donnie waved him off, grabbing the crutch that was on the floor next to him.

Leo reached to grab hold of him too, hoping to help Donnie off the floor before the purple-banded turtle hurt himself more.

"I said I'm FINE!" Donnie snapped, shoving Leo off before pulling himself back to his feet.

"What happened?" Leo questioned, standing up to be on eye level with Donnie again.

"Nothing happened, I just lost my balance, I'm fine," Donnie said.

"You don't seem fine," Leo pointed out, watching how unsteady Donnie was on his feet as he attempted to make it back to his desk.

"Oh yes, because you're such a GREAT judge on when someone is actually fine or not," Donnie snapped, sitting down and turning to glare at Leo.

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?" Leo demanded, feeling himself go on the defensive. Though he didn't really need Donnie to elaborate on what he meant, part of him wanted his brother to put it into actual words, to point his finger and put the blame on him.

"If I have to spell it out for you, then maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were," Donnie said, turning his back toward Leo.

Leo stood there in silence, watching his brother type away on the computer while he attempted to think of something to say, something that would perhaps help start healing their broken family.

"What do you want, Leo?" Donnie finally asked.

"What happened to you and Mikey?" A million other questions he could have asked, and a thousand more things he could have said, and Leo found himself asking about the torture his brothers had endured.

Donnie stared at him for a long moment, before turning his shell to him again. However the olive-green turtle didn't continue typing, he just sat there staring at the keyboard on his desk. "What information are you looking for, Leo?" Donnie asked.

Leo sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. A reason maybe? Why you and Mikey? Nothing about Slash's attack makes any sense to me, or why he would torture you and Mikey the way he did."

"You're asking me to give a psycho reasoning?" Donnie questioned.

"Yes, because his every move was more planned out more than it should have been if he had simply gone crazy," Leo insisted. It was then that Leo realized that this was what had been bothering him over the last few days, not just his family suffering, not just the weight of his failure crushing him, but the fact that Slash had planned things out, had calculated their every move enough to not only grab Mikey, but Donnie and Raph as well.

And while they weren't the quietest, or the most focused, or even the most patient of ninja, they were still ninja.

"Leo?" Donnie frowned, and Leo blinked at his brother.

"I have to go," he suddenly said, turning and leaving the lab. Something was off, he had been occupied with having his brothers back, safe at home, and Splinter had been more than a match for Slash, it was unlikely that the snapping turtle was going to be coming back for them again. At least not any time soon. However Leo wasn't able to shake this new feeling that had taken over.

"Leo, wait!" Donnie called after him, and Leo paused long enough to turn and see Donnie standing the doorway to the lab. "What is going on?"

Leo shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Don," he reassured his brother. "Just, try and get some rest. Your leg isn't going to heal if you don't." And with that, he was gone, leaving Donnie to stand there looking very confused.

TBC

So, turns out this wasn't the last chapter after all! Leo is finally doing something about the situation!

But our boys are home, safe and sound, and they're healing. So that's a good thing! ^_^ see you all in the next chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

Huge thanks to my wonderful wife Bicky Monster for beta reading this for me! And helping me get this whole story finished!

Here it is, the FINAL CHAPTER!

Chapter 12

Mikey was lying on the couch, his head resting on Raph's lap as he drifted in and out of sleep, trying to get some much needed rest.

Between the pain in his back, and the nightmares, the young turtle had only managed a couple hours of sleep each night for the past week, something that was really starting to take its toll on Mikey. And, though he wouldn't admit it, Donnie hadn't been faring any better.

The loud crash that echoed through the lair had Mikey jerking awake so suddenly that if Raph hadn't been holding him, he most likely would have fallen off the couch.

Mikey bit his lip, grunting in pain as he clenched his eyes shut and waited or the throbbing in his back to stop.

"I got ya," Raph said soothingly, a cool hand rested on Mikey's head and the smaller turtle flinched slightly from the touch.

"What happened?" Mikey asked when the pain had faded enough, and he opened his eyes again to look at Raph.

"Donnie's throwing things in his lab again," Raph said, glancing toward the locked door where the loud crashes could still be heard from the other side.

Mikey looked in the same direction, shrinking a little into his shell when there was a particularly loud crash. "So… are you sure you and D haven't switched minds or something?" Mikey asked, a poor attempt to make a joke out of the situation.

"Dunno, give me a screwdriver and I'll see if I can do something nerdy with it," Raph said, his hand still resting on Mikey's head as the smaller turtle giggled.

The two of them fell silent for another few minutes, before Mikey sighed and started pushing himself up off the sofa.

"Whoa, where the shell do you think you're going?" Raph asked, stopping Mikey from moving.

"To talk to Donnie. It's not good that he's locked himself in his lab, and if he's angry enough to start breaking his things…" Mikey trailed off, glancing toward the door when another loud crash echoed through the door, before everything went silent.

Mikey and Raph exchanged a look, before the red-banded turtle stood up as well, helping MIkey over to the door.

"Donnie?" Mikey called out, knocking softly on the large metal door.

"I'm fine, go away," came Donnie's reply.

Mikey ignored him and knocked again.

"Donnie… I… I really want to talk, please?" Mikey asked, when there was no answer this time,

Mikey looked toward Raph once again. The red-banded turtle nodded his head, grabbing the door and sliding it open.

"I'll go see what fearless is up to," Raph said, before closing the door behind Mikey once the smaller turtle was inside the lab.

Mikey looked around the lab. He had been in here a couple times over the last week, and it seemed each time Donnie allowed him in, another piece of equipment was broken.

He spotted the purple-banded turtle sitting in his chair, looking tired and physically drained.

"Donnie…" Mikey said sadly, slowly making his way forward. He sank to his knees on the floor in front of the olive green turtle, staring up into the tired face of his brother.

"I can't… I don't know how to fix this," Donnie said, staring back at Mikey. "I couldn't do anything when Slash had us, and… and even now… I'm so fucking useless!"

Mikey rested his head on Donnie's lap, trying to comfort his brother as much as he could. Because he knew how Donnie felt, the feeling of being useless, of being a liability.

"You're not, D, you've never been useless," Mikey said.

"How can you say that? Have you seen what we looked like? Slash could have killed us whenever he wanted! He's destroyed your shell! He fractured my leg simply by stepping on it!" Donnie ranted and Mikey sat up straighter again.

"I know exactly what Slash could have done to us," Mikey said, his voice taking on a darker tone. "I know how strong he is, and I know what it feels like to be useless, to be laying there helpless to stop whatever it is he plans on doing next!"

"Mikey… I…" Donnie tried searching for the right words to day, but Mikey continued, his own hurt and anger coming to the surface.

"He raped me! He fucking raped me, Donnie! I… I wanted to die… when he caught me again, and when he dragged you in, I thought, I thought he was going to… " Mikey had tears rolling down his cheeks and he lowered his head to Donnie's lap again, his shoulders shaking as he cried, hands gripping at Donnie's shell. "You're not useless, you can't fix everything but… you're not useless, not to me."

"I'm sorry," Donnie said, lowering himself to hug Mikey, the position was awkward, but comforting.

A noise from out in the lair cut their moment short, the two brothers sat up straight, each turning to look at the door of the lab.

"Casey Jones is in da house!" the new voice rang out through the lair and Mikey smiled, looking back toward Donnie who was sitting there with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"I'm curious, Mikey," Donnie said, glancing back at the younger turtle. "How did you meet someone so…"

"Crazy?" Mikey supplied. "He hit me over the head with a hockey stick," he said with a laugh at Donnie's horrified expression, before standing up slowly, using Donnie's chair as support when his back throbbed again.

"That sounds like how Raph would meet someone," Donnie said, watching Mikey's face as it scrunched up in pain. "You know, you really shouldn't be moving around so much," he insisted with a sigh, even though everyone knew it was near impossible to keep Mikey sitting still for any extended period of time.

"I'm fine," Mikey insisted. "Are YOU okay, bro?" he asked, looking down at Donnie in concern.

"No," Donnie answered truthfully. "But I think, given time, you and I will both be fine," he said and

Mikey smiled, leaning down and kissing Donnie's cheek, before standing up straight. "If Casey is here, April is probably with him, we could… we could all watch a movie together, maybe?"

Donnie looked at the door to the lab again, sighing but giving a small nod. "I suppose I can't stay locked in here forever," he said.

"If I can't stay locked in my room, you can't stay locked in your lab," Mikey insisted. Looking around, he found Donnie's crutch and handed it to the olive green turtle, who was struggling to stand up from his computer chair.

"Let's go make your loud friend shut up, and find a movie that's not too violent," Donnie said, and Mikey nodded his agreement.

-x

It was some time later, halfway through their second movie, when both Mikey and Donnie fell asleep. Raph was pinned by both his brothers, as they had taken up the couch on either side of the red-banded turtle.

Raph hadn't complained, even though the new loudmouth human Mikey had somehow befriended, kept sniggering, despite the elbow to the rib cage that April had given him.

"Shut up, it's sweet," April hissed when Casey chuckled again.

"Keep laughing, Jones, I'll knock out a few more of those teeth, as soon as these two wake up," Raph growled, though he stopped when Mikey let out a whimper, shifting in his sleep. "Shh, easy, I got ya buddy," Raph whispered, keeping his voice calm until Mikey settled back down.

Casey shifted slightly, thankfully keeping his mouth shut until he was certain that Mikey had fallen back asleep. "So…" Casey said, also keeping his voice low. "How are they doin?"

"Good I suppose?" Raph shrugged.

"You don't know?" Casey asked, frowning.

"They ain't exactly been talkin a whole lot," Raph huffed. "I dunno, they don't really talk about what happened, not ta me anyway."

"I don't know about the purple dude, but I know MIkey, he's a strong kid," Casey said. "He might be a bit banged up from this, but he'll be okay."

Raph looked at the human boy in mild surprise before nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, both Mikey and Don are strong," he said, looking down at his sleeping brothers.

They fell silent for a few moments, before April stood up. "If those two are sleeping, Casey and I should get going,"

"Already? The movie ain't over yet, red," Casey said, motioning to the tv.

"Yes, but it's also getting late, and I don't know about you, but I don't feel like walking home on my own," April said, and that was enough to get Casey jumping to his feet.

"Bye," Raph said, chuckling as Casey grabbed April's bag before she could.

"Bye Raph. Tell Leo we'll see him next time, and I'm sorry he missed movie night," April said while she snagged her bag back from Casey.

Raph waved from his spot on the couch as the two humans left.

The Lair was silent again, except for the sound of the movie as it reached the end and the credits started rolling. It was then that Raph looked over toward the doorway.

"You can come in, Leo, they're gone, Mikey and Donnie are fast asleep, and I'm gonna need help getting them into bed."

A moment later the blue-banded turtle came through the doorway slowly.

"Let me put my gear away, then I'll come help," he said and Raph nodded his head once, watching as the eldest, armed with every knife he owned, made his way down the hall and into his room.

Raph couldn't say he was to happy about the sudden role reversal he and Leo had going on at the moment, and as soon as he could corner his older brother, he was going to find out what the deal was.

"When did they fall asleep?" Leo asked, as he came back out and looked at Raph on the couch with Mikey and Donnie.

"You should know, you've been waitin' outside that door since the start of the second movie," Raph said eyeing Leo. "Didn't want April to see ya armed for war or somethin'?"

"Something like that," Leo admitted, coming over to the couch and leaning down to lift Donnie up, being careful not to hurt his injured brother's leg.

Once Donnie had been removed, Raph was able to shift out from under Mikey. He easily lifted the orange-banded turtle and followed Leo down the hall to their rooms. Raph went straight to his own room with Mikey, knowing the youngest would be awake within a couple hours from another nightmare, and come crawling into his bed anyway. Not to mention Mikey's room was still a minefield of empty pizza boxes and who knew what else.

Being as gentle as he possibly could, and careful not to jar Mikey too much and bump his injured shell, Raph laid him on the bed, pulling the sheet up and over him. He was about to pull away when Mikey reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't leave me," Mikey's said tiredly as he blinked up at Raph.

"I'm just going to be right outside, no one is gonna hurt you," Raph reassured him, placing a hand on Mikey's head and coaxing him back to sleep.

Mikey's breathing evened out and Raph was able to pull his hand away, turning toward the door. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Leo standing there, leaning against the frame, eyes on Mikey.

"Out," Raph ordered in a hushed voice, stepping forward and blocking Leo's view of Mikey.

Leo raised an eyeridge at Raph, but backed out of the room as Raph followed, pulling the door closed behind him, but leaving it open a crack in case Mikey woke up again.

"How are they doing?" Leo asked.

"Why don't you try sticking around here tomorrow and askin' them that yourself," Raph snapped, storming off toward the living room to clean up their mess from movie night.

"What the fuck is with the attitude?" Leo asked, following after him.

"Attitude? I ain't got an attitude! You're the one who just keeps on leavin' me here to look after Mikey and Donnie, deal with their nightmares, while you're top side doing who knows what!" Raph snarled. "You haven't been around all week. Where the fuck are you even going every night?"

Leo couldn't help but smirk. "You know, you're starting to sound like me, every time you ran off without telling anyone."

"Yeah, but you guys expect that shit from me. So come on, spill; what is so important that ya can't be here?" Raph asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Or that you can't ask me ta at least go along with ya?"

Leo let out a sigh and lowered his head. "I don't even know," he admitted.

"Bullshit." Raph narrowed his eyes at his older brother. "It's ta do with Slash, isn't it?" he guessed.

"Maybe," Leo said, running a hand over his head in frustration. "I don't know! I really don't, I just have this gut feeling that something is still wrong," he tried to explain.

Raph studied him for a long moment before nodding his head once. "Alright then," he said and turned to finish cleaning the living room.

"That's it?" Leo asked, sounding surprised.

"I ain't like you, Leo, I'm not gonna tell you to stay in the lair, to stay locked up and let this 'feeling' fester before it's too much and you explode," Raph said, keeping his shell toward Leo.

"This isn't like you, this isn't like US. Where's the yelling? Where's the arguments? Where's the fight?" Leo asked, and Raph chuckled.

"If it would make ya feel better, I can punch ya in the head," Raph offered, looking over his shoulder at the blue-banded turtle.

Leo couldn't help but laugh and he shook his head. "No, I think I'll pass," he said and he moved to help Raph finish cleaning up.

The two of them fell into an uncomfortable silence as they brought the dishes to the kitchen, and Leo moved to start washing them.

"You know," Leo said when Raph pulled out a towel to dry and put the dishes away. "I never meant to hurt Mikey the way I did. I just… he wasn't getting better, and I hated seeing Mikey so broken."

Raph paused in his own chore, looking at Leo.

"You could have shown a bit more tact in dealing with him. None of us can understand what he went through, what he's still going through, but he ain't broken, he never was."

"I suppose Mikey is stronger than we give him credit for," Leo admitted, a small smile on his face as he and Raph once again fell silent, though the heavy feeling in the air seemed to be disappearing.

-x

For the following two days, Leo had decided it might be for the best if he remained in the lair, just to see for himself how his two youngest brothers were holding up.

Mikey seemed to have picked up a stubborn streak from Raph. He was insisting he was fine as he moved around the kitchen, only to have to stop when his back throbbed painfully, just because he had moved the wrong way, or had bumped his still healing shell.

However Raph and Master Splinter both seemed to have the youngest turtle well in hand, the one Leo was starting to worry about, was Donnie.

It wasn't unheard of for the purple-banded turtle to lock himself away in his lab for days on end, however Leo was sure that doing such a thing at the moment wasn't healthy for his brother.

So while Raph handled Mikey, Leo went to Donnie's lab and stood in the doorway. The purple-banded turtle was sat at his desk, the keyboard clicking as he typed quickly, pulling up new windows on the computer before shaking his head and moving on.

"What are you working on?" Leo asked.

Donnie jerked and spun around in his chair quickly, eyes wide as he reached for the crutch that was next to his desk, only to relax when he saw that it was Leo.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, taking in Donnie's tired appearance, and the empty mug that was sat next to him on the desk.

"I'm fine, never better," Donnie said flatly, turning his back toward Leo again.

"Mikey's making lunch, maybe you should-"

"I'm fine," Donnie said again, cutting Leo off.

"Donnie," Leo sighed, moving further into the lab and standing next to his brother. He waited until Donnie had at least glanced in his direction before speaking again. "You still mad at me?" he asked.

"For last week? No, I suppose I'm not that irritated at you anymore for your unreasonable demands," Donnie said. "If that's all you wanted, you can leave now."

"You're right," Leo huffed, "asking you to explain what you and Mikey had gone through, so soon after getting home... it wasn't fair on you." Leo sighed, leaning against Donnie's desk.

Donnie said nothing, but he stopped typing to fully look at Leo again.

Leo continued when Donnie was still looking at him expectantly. "I'm also sorry for demanding you help me come up with a reason for why Slash targeted you and Mikey."

"And for running out of the lab like your tail was on fire?" Donnie pressed, and Leo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and for that," Leo said.

Donnie nodded his head, turning back toward his computer once more. "Apology accepted," he said, glancing up at Leo when the blue-banded turtle chuckled.

"You know," Donnie said, "I think we might be wrong about who's the worst at apologising, I always thought it was Raph, because of how embarrassed he gets when he's wrong. You however, are on a whole different level."

Leo stared at Donnie for a long moment before laughing and shaking his head.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Raph at least gets around to apologising the same day. Though, better not tell him that, don't need him thinking he's better than me at something; his ego's large enough as it is."

Donnie grinned. "And your's isn't?" he shot back. "Now, was there something else that you needed? Because I'm fairly sure you didn't come in here just to apologise."

"Honestly, I just came in here to check on you, and see what you were doing. I might not have been home a lot over the last week, but I can still tell when you're hiding in your lab," Leo said.

"I'm not hiding, not on purpose," Donnie admitted, moving his chair slightly so that he could show Leo his computer screen. "I've been keeping track of some unusual energy surges in this area," he pointed to the screen, showing Leo on the digital map exactly where he had been talking about.

"That's…" Leo trailed off.

"That's where Slash took me and Mikey," Donnie nodded, looking back at the computer screen. "I don't know if it's anything to be worried about, so I wasn't going to mention it to anyone until I was sure, but…" Donnie trailed off and Leo nodded his head in understanding.

"I'm going out again tonight. I'll check it out, if that will make you feel better?" Leo asked.

"I'm not sure if I like the idea of you going there on your own, but MIkey and I aren't up to leaving the lair yet…"

"You still have those old headsets don't you?" Leo asked, and Donnie looked confused as he pointed toward one of his shelves. "I'll take one, and you keep the other with you. If this is nothing, then you'll know immediately, but if Slash is still up to something, we'll know that too, and we can make a plan of attack," Leo said, grabbing the headsets and handing one to Donnie.

"And if Slash is still there and catches you?" Donnie asked.

"Then you'll know that I'm in trouble, and can get Raph, or Master Splinter to come help me," Leo said.

"Or you could just take both of them with you to begin with," Donnie supplied.

Leo shook his head. "If this turns out to be nothing, then I don't want to worry anyone needlessly."

Donnie sighed and reluctantly agreed. If this power surge was just a strange anomaly, and had nothing to do with Slash at all, then not only would Donnie be losing sleep over it, Mikey would too.

"Tonight?" Donnie asked, looking at Leo.

"Tonight," he agreed. "Now come eat some lunch, or I'll send Mikey in here to drag you out."

-x

Leo sat on the roof to the abandoned warehouse, looking down into the familiar room where they had found Mikey and Donnie weeks earlier. He narrowed his eyes when he could still see the blood stains on the floor; even though Leo knew that no one would have been around to clean up the mess, the sight of it still made his stomach turn.

" _Leo, you okay?"_ Donnie's voice came over the headset and Leo took a deep calming breath.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm at the warehouse, there's no sign of Slash," Leo informed his brother. "I'm going in to find what's causing that power surge you're tracking," he said.

" _Be careful, Leo."_

Even though the warning was unneeded, Leo knew his younger brother was worried, and really didn't like the fact that Leo had gone out on his own.

Throwing the rope over the ledge, Leo lowered himself silently into the building, taking his katana out once he was on his feet. His eyes were narrowed and whited out as he looked around for any possible threat.

"Alright Donnie, I'm in," Leo said over the headset. "It doesn't look as if there is anything here that could be giving off anything that you'd be picking up, this place doesn't even seem to have working lights."

" _Try towards the back of the building, it's a big place, there are more than two rooms in there,"_ Donnie suggested, and Leo nodded his head even though Donnie couldn't see him.

Keeping his weapons at the ready, he made his way silently out of the room, and into the hallway that would lead him through the rest of the warehouse. The place was quiet, and that in itself made Leo suspicious. Simply because if no one had been around, there would be some kind of sound from critters scurrying across the floor. But the only things that Leo could hear were the normal sounds from the city outside.

Leo took his time, making sure to glance into every door he passed, even though there weren't many, he didn't want to chance missing anything. It was as he was pushing a door open slowly to look inside that he heard it, voices coming from another doorway near the end of the hallway.

"Donnie, someone's here, I'm going to maintain radio silence," Leo said, informing his brother of his plan before using the shadows to hide his presence.

The voices were muffled by the large door, however Leo could tell that one of the voices belonged to Slash. The large turtle was in a rage, and was clearly stomping around the room inside. If the door had been open at all, Leo would have been able to slip in undetected, however the weight of the metal door, and the old hinges, meant that it would be impossible to open it without some sort of noise. So he did the next best thing, he pressed against the door and listened.

"Calm down, brother," a gravelly voice spoke, before letting out a sound almost like a strange cough. "I told you before, he was not needed for our plan."

"You don't understand! He belonged to ME! He was mine and they poisoned him!" Slash raged, and the sound of a metal table could be heard being tipped over and kicked across the floor. "I shouldn't have listened to you! I should have killed them all."

Leo's hand clenched around his sword, holding back his own angry growl as he listened.

"Next time, my brother, but now we must go. The utrom are on the move, and we must destroy them," the unknown voice insisted.

"No, I will not help you, not without Raphael, we need him. Despite what you say, he needs to be with us, and if you will not help me, I'll do this on my own. I'll break each one of them for what they have done to him. I will kill them all, and then Raphael will be free," Slash insisted.

Leo had heard enough. Pulling away from the door, he slammed it open, catching Slash by surprise as the large turtle turned quickly toward the noise. He managed to dodge Leo's attack, and the katana blade nicked his foot.

"Come back and help me fight! You coward!" Slash roared at an empty spot in the room, and Leo frowned, looking around trying to see where the second person had gone.

The room was mostly empty, a few tables and chairs, but everything appeared to be broken, and there wasn't any place suitable for hiding. All the windows were still in tact and sealed shut.

" _Leo, what's going on? Are you alright? I just picked up on another power surge,"_ Donnie's frantic voice came over the headset.

Leo didn't have time to answer when Slash screeched and charged at him. Leo dodged the sloppy attack with ease, swinging his sword out and slicing the back of Slash's ankle.

There was a loud crash and a roar of fury and pain as the snapping turtle landed hard on the ground, knocking a table as he rolled around to face Leo.

"I'm fine, Don, I'll be home soon," Leo said, lifting a hand he switched off the headset, his eyes narrowed to mere slits as he advanced on Slash.

"I will kill you!" Slash insisted, pushing himself to his one good foot, as his other one was too painful to stand on.

"You were given a warning," Leo said, unphased by Slash's threat. "You were told not to come near us again, you were warned what would happen if you attempted to go after myself, or my brothers again."

Leo swung out, slicing at Slash's good kneecap, watching as the other turtle stumbled backwards, more blood running down his leg to pool under him.

"You've poisoned Raphael against me!" Slash insisted.

"No, you did that all on your own, as soon as you made the decision to attack, to rape, our baby brother," Leo said, sneering down at Slash.

Slash's face twisted in rage at the mention of Mikey.

"He deserved that and more! I should have killed him, and all of you when I had the chance!"

Slash hadn't even finished speaking when Leo swing his sword, the blade slicing through Slash's throat. Leo had thought that he might feel a slight twist in his gut, a feeling of guilt as he watched the other turtle try to suck in air, the only sound coming from him was a choking, gurgling sound. But the only thing Leo felt in that moment was an eerie calm, and a silent wish that he could have caused this monster even an ounce of the pain he had inflicted on Mikey.

Leo was unsure how long he stood there, but it was long enough for Slash to stop breathing, and his body stop twitching in the last few moments as it struggled to hang on.

And still, Leo stood there, waiting for the guilt, the remorse, but the only thing that remained was that calm, and a slowly growing feeling that now everything was going to be alright.

-x

Another day had passed, and while it wasn't one of the worst days, things could have been better. Mikey had ignored strict orders to take it easy, and as a result he hard hurt his arm, and nearly done more damage to his back after climbing on the counter in an attempt to reach something on the top shelf.

Raph didn't know what was worse, watching his brothers struggling to get around the lair, the nightmares that interrupted their sleep, or the cold rage that seemed to have become Leo's new default emotion. Even after their talk a few days ago, Leo had been very closed off and distant about everything.

Raph knew the leader was trying to hide it, and he had done a better job over the last few days, however each time one of their brothers screamed out, or Mikey bumped his still healing shell, Raph saw it, that icy look that flashed over Leo's face.

Something kept nagging at Raph to talk to the eldest turtle again, to point out that he knew what Leo was planning, and demand he be allowed to tag along. But for once in his life, he remained silent, he let Leo leave the lair alone each night.

So it was no surprise to Raph, sitting on the couch one night, gently coaxing Mikey back to sleep after another nightmare, when Leo came back into the lair.

Raph looked at him, and they made eye contact for just a moment, and Raph saw it, that subtle shift in Leo's expression, the calm acceptance of what he had done, and Raph knew then, Slash would never be able to hurt their family again.

END

I've done it! My first Ninja turtle fic EVER is finally finished! Yes, I have left it open for a sequel, no, I have no idea if I am going to write one. But it is open just in case I do.


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